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.
And, yes, the desire to do things yourself is understandable, if sometimes regrettable.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026
Cathy’s reasons for doing terrible things may be understandable, even relatable, while the transgression remains unforgivable.
From Salon ● Oct. 3, 2026
They quickly discovered that making a mathematical argument understandable to a computer program required an enormous amount of work.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
That players will, at the very least, consider their futures at Etihad Stadium in the event of demotion would be understandable.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
He failed because his detection apparatus was not capable of sensing neutrons and positrons—that was an understandable oversight, for neither particle yet had been discovered.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
