appreciable

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/əˈpɹiːʃəbl/

adjective

Both detectable and at least modestly substantial: large enough to be estimated and to be of practical relevance.

“A small hernia was just barely appreciable upon palpation.”

Less commonScrabble 19

Meanings

adjectiveappreciable (comparative more appreciable, superlative most appreciable)

comparative more appreciable · superlative most appreciable

  1. usuallyBoth detectable and at least modestly substantial: large enough to be estimated and to be of practical relevance.

    For many people, the benefits of exercise in improving mood and preventing achiness are appreciable.

    4 more examples

    A grain of musk will scent a drawer for many years, and still lose nothing appreciable of its original weight.

    1865, Charles Dickens, chapter 15, in Our Mutual Friend

    For an appreciable time he did not think of rising from his seat.

    1915, P. G. Wodehouse, chapter 1, in Something New

    Anti-freeze has not been found necessary, even in the most severe conditions, since the water is drained out if a locomotive spends any appreciable time out of service and in normal working conditions the coolant is always warm.

    1962 October, M. J. Wilson, “Three years of dieselisation at Devons Road depot”, in Modern Railways, page 264

    If NEAsia were a zone of peace, those American forces would be unnecessary and they could be sent home and demobilized, saving the U.S. taxpayer an appreciable sum of money.

    2002, John J. Mearsheimer, "Realism, the Real World, and the Academy," in Realism and Institutionalism in International Studies (M. Brecher and F. P. Harvey, eds.), p. 27

    Synonyms: considerable

  2. sometimesSynonym of detectable.

    A small hernia was just barely appreciable upon palpation.

    Synonyms: perceptible, detectable

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveBoth detectable and at least modestly substantial: large enough to be estimated and to be of practical relevance.

adjectiveSynonym of detectable.

More synonyms by meaning

adjectiveenough to be estimated or measured

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Frenchappréciable
  2. Englishappreciable

From French appréciable. By surface analysis, appreci(ate) + -able.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian забележим, чувствителен
  • забележим (zabeležim)large enough to be estimated; considerable
  • чувствителен (čuvstvitelen)large enough to be estimated; considerable
Czech citelný
  • citelnýlarge enough to be estimated; considerable
Esperanto konsiderinda, grava
  • konsiderindalarge enough to be estimated; considerable
  • gravalarge enough to be estimated; considerable
Finnish havaittava, huomattava
  • havaittavalarge enough to be estimated; considerable
  • huomattavalarge enough to be estimated; considerable
French appréciable
  • appréciablelarge enough to be estimated; considerable
German schätzbar
  • schätzbarlarge enough to be estimated; considerable
Portuguese apreciável
  • apreciávellarge enough to be estimated; considerable
Russian ощути́мый, заме́тный
  • ощути́мый (oščutímyj)large enough to be estimated; considerable
  • заме́тный (zamétnyj)large enough to be estimated; considerable
Spanish apreciable, sensible
  • apreciablelarge enough to be estimated; considerable
  • sensiblelarge enough to be estimated; considerable
  • considerablelarge enough to be estimated; considerable
Ukrainian відчу́тний, помі́тний
  • відчу́тний (vidčútnyj)large enough to be estimated; considerable
  • помі́тний (pomítnyj)large enough to be estimated; considerable
Cite this entry
APA

appreciable. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/appreciable

MLA

“appreciable.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/appreciable. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “appreciable,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/appreciable.

Source: appreciable on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.