understandable
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
- nonunderstandable adjective
- understandability noun
- understandably adverb
- ununderstandable adjective
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 frustration from supporters is understandable, given Chelsea have now lost their past four Premier League games without scoring - their joint-longest run since November 1912.
From BBC • Apr. 18, 2026
“I’m very lucky to have a woman who speaks to me in a way that is understandable without being condescending,” she said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026
One of the WNBA’s founding franchises, the failure-ridden Sparks enter the league’s 30th season attempting to break a five-year playoff drought with an understandable yet unremarkable game plan.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 15, 2026
Checker said that the Sahel states have shown an "openness" to resuming security cooperation with the United States but that it would take time as there was a "severe, understandable trust deficit."
From Barron's • Apr. 8, 2026
They can be demonstrated by simple mathematics, mainly first-year algebra and therefore understandable to any educated person.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
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.
