solvable

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UK/ˈsɒlvəbəl/US/ˈsɑlvəbəl/

adjective

Capable of being solved.

“a solvable problem”

Less commonScrabble 13

Meanings

adjective

alternative obsolete solvible

  1. Capable of being solved.

    a solvable problem

    5 more examples

    1677, Matthew Hale, The Primitive Origination of Mankind, London: William Shrowsbery, “De homine,” Chapter 2, p. 56, Intellective Memory, which I call an act of the intellective faculty because it is wrought by it, though I do not inquire how or where, because it is not solvible:

    Questions of this Nature may be easily solvable in the simple Cases.

    1732, Henry Home, Lord Kames, “Beneficium cedendarum actionum”, in Essays upon Several Subjects in Law, Edinburgh, page 19

    1856, Abraham Lincoln, Speech delivered before the first Republican State Convention of Illinois, Bloomington, 29 May, 1856, in Arthur Brooks Lapsley (ed.), The Writings of Abraham Lincoln, New York: The Lamb Publishing Company, Volume 2, p. 271, It is a very strange thing, and not solvable by any moral law that I know of, that if a man loses his horse, the whole country will turn out to help hang the thief; but if a man but a shade or two darker than I am is himself stolen, the same crowd will hang one who aids in restoring him to liberty.

    Would Mr. Farfrae stay in Casterbridge despite his words and her father’s dismissal? His occult breathings to her might be solvable by his course in that respect.

    1886, Thomas Hardy, chapter 17, in The Mayor of Casterbridge, volume 1, London: Smith, Elder, page 211

    This is a mystery that is solvable with a phone call.

    2010, Howard Jacobson, The Finkler Question, New York: Bloomsbury, Part 1, Chapter 4, p. 97

    Synonyms: soluble · Antonyms: unsolvable, insolvable, insoluble

    1. group theoryHaving terminating derived series; see Solvable group on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

      Synonyms: soluble · Antonyms: unsolvable, insolvable, insoluble

    2. Galois theorymathematicsHaving a Galois group which is solvable.

      Synonyms: soluble · Antonyms: unsolvable, insolvable, insoluble

    3. Lie theorymathematicsHaving terminating derived series (this is a distinct notion from the derived series of a group); see Solvable Lie algebra on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

      Synonyms: soluble · Antonyms: unsolvable, insolvable, insoluble

    4. computerSuch that the set of inputs for which the answer is yes is recursively enumerable.

      Synonyms: soluble · Antonyms: unsolvable, insolvable, insoluble

  2. obsoleteCapable of being dissolved or liquefied.

    1664, John Chandler (translator), Van Helmont’s Works, London: Lodowick Lloyd, A Treatise of Fevers, Chapter 8, p. 971, […] they administer Pearles, and Corrals being beaten to dust or dissolved in distilled vinegar, or the juice of limons, and again dryed, and solvable in any potable liquour:

    Synonyms: soluble · Antonyms: unsolvable, insolvable, insoluble

  3. obsoleteAble to pay one's debts.

    The Government is solvable in case of Loss, whereas private Men often fail;

    1703, John Dennis, A Proposal for Putting a Speedy End to the War, London: Daniel Brown and Andrew Bell, page 19
    1 more example

    […] although imprisonment was imposed by law on persons not solvable, yet officers were unwilling to cast them into goale,

    1655, Thomas Fuller, “Section 4”, in The Church-history of Britain; […], London: […] Iohn Williams […], →OCLC, (please specify |book=I to XI), page 131

    Synonyms: solvent

  4. obsoleterareCapable of being paid and discharged.

    solvable obligations

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveCapable of being solved.

Similar

adjectiveHaving terminating derived series; see Solvable group on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Similar

adjectiveHaving a Galois group which is solvable.

Similar

adjectiveHaving terminating derived series (this is a distinct notion from the derived series of a group); see Solvable Lie algebra on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Similar

adjectiveSuch that the set of inputs for which the answer is yes is recursively enumerable.

Similar

adjectiveCapable of being dissolved or liquefied.

Similar

adjectiveAble to pay one's debts.

Similar

More synonyms by meaning

adjectivecapable of being solved

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

From solve + -able. Piecewise doublet of soluble. More information The mathematical senses derive from Galois theory: Galois discovered that one could determine whether a given polynomial could be solved by radicals by studying the properties of a particular group attached to a particular field extension deriving from the polynomial in question; if the group satisfies some conditions then polynomial can be solved by radicals. Any group meeting these conditions — whether or not it arises from this process — is thus called solvable, as is any field extension giving rise to such a group. The Lie-theoretic sense is by analogy, the study of Lie algebras deriving much of its terminology from group theory. In regular use by the late 19th century.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Czech řešitelný
  • řešitelnýcapable of being solved
Esperanto solvebla
  • solveblacapable of being solved
Finnish liukeneva, ratkeava
  • liukeneva''(obsolete in English)'' capable of being dissolved
  • ratkeavacapable of being solved
French soluble, résoluble
  • soluble''(obsolete in English)'' capable of being dissolved
  • résolublecapable of being solved
German löslich, lösbar
  • löslich''(obsolete in English)'' capable of being dissolved
  • lösbarcapable of being solved
Hebrew פתיר
  • פתיר (pathir)capable of being solved
Hungarian megoldható, megfejthető
  • megoldhatócapable of being solved
  • megfejthetőcapable of being solved
Japanese 溶かせる, 解決できる
  • 溶かせる (tokaseru)''(obsolete in English)'' capable of being dissolved
  • 解決できる (kaiketsu dekiru)capable of being solved
  • 解ける (tokeru)capable of being solved
  • 割り切れる (warikireru)capable of being solved
Polish rozpuszczalny, rozwiązywalny
  • rozpuszczalny''(obsolete in English)'' capable of being dissolved
  • rozwiązywalnycapable of being solved
  • rozwiązalnycapable of being solved
Portuguese solúvel
  • solúvelcapable of being solved
Romanian solubil, dizolvabil
  • solubil''(obsolete in English)'' capable of being dissolved
  • dizolvabil''(obsolete in English)'' capable of being dissolved
  • plătibilcapable of being solved
  • solvabilcapable of being solved
Russian решаемый
  • решаемый (rešajemyj)capable of being solved
Spanish soluble, soluble
  • soluble''(obsolete in English)'' capable of being dissolved
  • solublecapable of being solved
  • solucionablecapable of being solved
Swedish löslig, lösbar
  • löslig''(obsolete in English)'' capable of being dissolved
  • lösbarcapable of being solved
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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