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.
So it’s entirely understandable if most of us aren’t into the labor aspect of the Lanterns’ audition process.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
Even so, as the line between investing and gambling grows increasingly blurry, it’s understandable that some consumers might get confused.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
Libraries, museums, and other institutions have understandable concerns about allowing researchers to take samples from rare and culturally important manuscripts if doing so might cause permanent damage.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 11, 2026
This is understandable since tire margins were 14.9% in the first half versus the existing full-year guidance of 13.0-14.5%,
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
This view, while understandable, given the sensational media coverage of crack in the 1980s and 1990s, is simply wrong.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
Definitions 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.
