How To Use -able And -ible Correctly - Grammarist

Home » What Does The Suffix Ible Mean » How To Use -able And -ible Correctly - Grammarist

Maybe your like

Skip to content

Log In

My Account

GRAMMARIST

Menu Store -able and -ible Photo of author

| Grammarist

| Usage

Photo of author

| Grammarist

| Usage

Photo of author

Grammarist

The suffixes -able and -ible both mean capable of or suitable for, but we treat them differently. The most important difference is that -able is a living suffix, meaning we can affix it to virtually any verb without using a hyphen, while -ible is not used to make new words. It lives on mainly in old words passed down through the centuries.

As the living suffix, -able is useful for coining new words, though we often have to ignore spell check when it comes to -able coinages. For example, our spell check disapproves of sanctionable, channelable, overthrowable, redoable, and torturable, but these are perfectly good words and do not require hyphenation.

To form an -able word, treat the verb as you do when making an -ing participle. For example, we make moving from move by dropping the e and adding -ing. So, to make move‘s -able adjective, we drop the e and add -able: movable.

But when creating an -able word, make sure there is not already an equivalent -ible word (see below). For instance, convertable is superfluous because we already have convertible. All accepted -ible words are listed in the dictionary.

–ible adjectives

Unlike –able, -ible isn’t used to make new words. It exists only in words retained from earlier stages of English. Here are a few of the most common words with the suffix:

accessible admissible audible convertible controvertible credible defensible digestible discernible dismissible edible eligible exhaustible fallible feasible flexible gullible horrible invincible legible ostensible perceptible permissible plausible possible reprehensible susceptible terrible visible

Many -ible adjectives have corresponding -able words from which they have differentiated over time. For example, forcible and forceable have different meanings. Other -ible words have -able variants that are identical in meaning—for example, extendable and extendible.

Grammarist is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. When you buy via the links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no cost to you.

2024 © Grammarist, a Found First Marketing company. All rights reserved.

HomeAboutContactAdvertisePrivacy PolicyTermsRefund PolicySitemapAffiliates Close shop

log in

My Account

[email protected]

Search for: Review Your Cart 0 Discount Add Coupon Code Apply Subtotal Total Installment Payments Bundle Discount Checkout 0

Tag » What Does The Suffix Ible Mean