understandable
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of understandable
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English: originally, “capable of understanding”; understand + -able
Explanation
Something understandable can be understood or grasped. It makes sense. Since understanding something means you comprehend or get it, when things are understandable, they can be perceived or fathomed. If a friend cancels plans to see a movie because he's sick, that's understandable. Leaving one job for a better paying job is understandable. Eating a lot of cake on your birthday is understandable. Understandable things are easy to grasp and no one is likely to doubt or question them. The opposite of understandable would be weird, odd, or inexplicable.
Vocabulary lists containing understandable
-able, -ible
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-able, -ible
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-able, -ible
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The drive to sweep us up into the beat-by-beat inevitability of history is understandable, but it prevents a more intimate savoring of the person who powered it all.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026
"It's tedious to get up early, wait, and then see your train cancelled, but it's understandable there's a strike," she said.
From Barron's ● Nov. 5, 2026
El-Sayed’s defensiveness, as he runs to be the nation’s first Muslim senator, is understandable.
From Slate ● Nov. 2, 2026
"The understandable controversy around Jason's conviction and the choices he made that led to that have upset and surprised a lot of people in the group," he said.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
And that was understandable, but also beside the point.
From "Wringer" by Jerry Spinelli
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
