popeable

P3O1P3E1A1B3L1E1

adjective

Thought to be among those likely to be elected pope; papabile; papable.

Scrabble 14

Meanings

adjectivepopeable (comparative more popeable, superlative most popeable)

comparative more popeable · superlative most popeable

  1. rareThought to be among those likely to be elected pope; papabile; papable.

    Vatican watchers have already anointed the Honduran prelate papabile or “popeable.”

    2001 February 20, May Ying Welsh, “Latin Cardinals hint at Church's future”, in CNN
    1 more example

    In 2020, Edward Pentin, the senior Vatican correspondent for the National Catholic Register, released a book on the topic, titled "The Next Pope: The Leading Cardinal Candidates." In the book, Pentin listed 19 cardinals he considered to be papabile, or "popeable" frontrunners.

    2025 April 21, Sam Clancy, Andrew Weil, “Former St. Louis archbishop Burke among 'popeable' candidates after Francis' death”, in KSDK

Origin

  1. Italianpapabile
  2. Englishpopeable

Calque of Italian papabile, equivalent to pope + -able.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

popeable. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/popeable

MLA

“popeable.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/popeable. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “popeable,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/popeable.

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