Meanings
comparative more passable · superlative most passable
- That may be passed or traversed.
- Tolerable; adequate; no more than satisfactory.
AIs are no longer just producing passable five-paragraph essays. Now they’re excelling at the SAT, “earning” a score of 1410.
2023 March 21, Ian Bogost, “Is This the Singularity for Standardized Tests?”, in The Atlantic, archived from the original on 25 Mar 20231 more example
The yawning gap in neuroscientists’ understanding of their topic is in the intermediate scale of the brain’s anatomy. Science has a passable knowledge of how individual nerve cells, known as neurons, work. It also knows which visible lobes and ganglia of the brain do what. But how the neurons are organised in these lobes and ganglia remains obscure.
2013 August 3, “The machine of a new soul”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8847Synonyms: satisfactory
- human sciencesable to "pass", or be accepted as a member of a race, sex or other group to which society would not otherwise regard one as belonging.
The idea of something, or someone, being unusual and sexual is intoxicating. I concluded that if I ever met a very passable transsexual and we were attracted to one another, I'd go bisexual and pursue the relationship.
2014, Paul Stryker, Confessions of a Sex Offender, page 33
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveTolerable; adequate; no more than satisfactory.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectiveable to be passed or traversed or crossed
adjectiveabout average; acceptable
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Frenchpassable
- Englishpassable
From French passable, equivalent to pass + -able.
More words from French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek βάσιμος
- βάσιμος (básimos)That may be passed or traversed
Bulgarian проходим, сносен
- проходим (prohodim)That may be passed or traversed
- сносен (snosen)Tolerable; satisfactory; adequate
Catalan transitable, passable
- transitableThat may be passed or traversed
- passableTolerable; satisfactory; adequate
Finnish kulkukelpoinen, välttävä
- kulkukelpoinenThat may be passed or traversed
- välttäväTolerable; satisfactory; adequate
German passierbar, passabel
- passierbarThat may be passed or traversed
- passabelTolerable; satisfactory; adequate
Greek διαβατός, μέτριος
- διαβατός (diavatós)That may be passed or traversed
- μέτριος (métrios)Tolerable; satisfactory; adequate
- υποφερτός (ypofertós)Tolerable; satisfactory; adequate
Hungarian elfogadható
- elfogadhatóTolerable; satisfactory; adequate
Icelandic slarkfær, sæmilegur
- slarkfærTolerable; satisfactory; adequate
- sæmilegurTolerable; satisfactory; adequate
Italian passabile
- passabileThat may be passed or traversed
Latin pervius, meabilis
- perviusThat may be passed or traversed
- meabilisThat may be passed or traversed
Norwegian Bokmål farbar
- farbarThat may be passed or traversed
Polish przekraczalny
- przekraczalnyThat may be passed or traversed
Portuguese aceitável, passável
- aceitávelTolerable; satisfactory; adequate
- passávelTolerable; satisfactory; adequate
- passávelable to be accepted as a member of a race, sex or other group
Scottish Gaelic cuibheasach
- cuibheasachTolerable; satisfactory; adequate
Spanish pasable, pasadero
- pasableThat may be passed or traversed
- pasaderoThat may be passed or traversed
- pasaderoTolerable; satisfactory; adequate
Cite this entry
passable. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/passable
“passable.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/passable. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “passable,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/passable.
Source: passable on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.