-ible - Wiktionary

English

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Alternative forms

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• -able (productive)

Pronunciation

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• IPA(key): /ɪbəl/, /əbəl/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Etymology 1

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From Middle English -ible, from Old French -ible, from Latin -ibilis.

Suffix

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-ible

1. An adjective suffix, now usually in a passive sense; forms adjectives meaning "able to be", "relevant or suitable to, in accordance with", or expressing capacity or worthiness in a passive sense. convertible

Usage notes

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• The form -able is usually used in the same sense and is pronounced the same, though sometimes equivalent terms have diverged in meaning: compare suggestable (“capable of being suggested”) with suggestible (“susceptible to influence by suggestion”).
• Generally not productive in English – most words ending in -ible are borrowed from Latin, or Old or Middle French, while -able is more common for producing new words. Examples of production in English include collectible and gullible.
• In general, forms derived from Latin verbs of the second, third, and fourth conjugations take -ible, as well as a few words whose roots end in a soft c or g. All other words take -able, particularly words from the Latin first conjugation, words that evolved through French, and words from Anglo-Saxon.
• Fowler, in his English Usage, recommended using -ible for simplicity in spelling with any verb whose root ends in a soft c or g (such as changible vs. changeable), but this recommendation has generally not been followed.
• Adjectives ending in -ible are occasionally nominalized, as in dirigible, foible, submersible. The adjective sense may become obsolete, as in foible.
• A few words end in “ible” but are not related to this suffix, instead being of different origin, generally a similar Latin suffix. Examples include crucible and mandible. See Etymology 2, below, for details.

Derived terms

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• -ibly

Derived terms

• accessible
• admissible
• alible
• apprehensible
• audible
• collectible
• combustible
• comestible
• compatible
• comprehensible
• compressible
• concupiscible
• contemptible
• convertible
• corrigible
• corruptible
• credible
• deductible
• defeasible
• defensible
• destructible
• diffusible
• digestible
• dirigible
• discernible
• distensible
• divisible
• edible
• eligible
• emulsible
• expansible
• extensible
• fallible
• feasible
• flexible
• foible
• forcible
• frangible
• fungible
• fusible
• gullible
• horrible
• illegible
• immersible
• immiscible
• impartible
• impassible
• imperceptible
• impermissible
• implausible
• impossible
• impressible
• inaccessible
• inadmissible
• inaudible
• incoercible
• incombustible
• incompatible
• incomprehensible
• incompressible
• incontrovertible
• inconvertible
• inconvincible
• incorrigible
• incorruptible
• incredible
• indefeasible
• indefectible
• indefensible
• indelible
• indestructible
• indigestible
• indiscernible
• indivisible
• inedible
• ineligible
• inexhaustible
• inexpressible
• inextensible
• infallible
• infeasible
• inflexible
• infrangible
• infusible
• insensible
• insuppressible
• insusceptible
• intangible
• intelligible
• invincible
• invisible
• irascible
• irreducible
• irrefrangible
• irremissible
• irrepressible
• irresistible
• irresponsible
• irreversible
• legible
• miscible
• negligible
• nondeductible
• omissible
• ostensible
• partible
• passible
• perceptible
• perfectible
• permissible
• persuasible
• plausible
• plug-compatible
• possible
• prescriptible
• putrescible
• refrangible
• remissible
• reprehensible
• resistible
• responsible
• reversible
• risible
• runcible spoon
• self-compatible
• self-incompatible
• semiflexible
• semisubmersible
• sensible
• submergible
• submersible
• suggestible
• supersensible
• susceptible
• tangible
• tax-deductible
• terrible
• transmissible
• unintelligible
• unsusceptible
• vendible
• vincible
• visible

Translations

[edit] able to be done

Catalan: -able, -ible Dutch: -baar (nl) Esperanto: -ebla (eo) Finnish: -tava, -tävä French: -ible (fr) Galician: -ábel m or f, -able m or f Georgian: -ადი (-adi) German: -bar (de) Hungarian: -ható (hu), -hető (hu) Ido: -ebla Italian: -ibile, -abile Japanese: -られる (ja) (rareru) Portuguese: -ável (pt), -ível (pt) Romanian: -bil Russian: -а́емый (-ájemyj), -а́ющийся (-ájuščijsja) Swedish: -bar (sv) West Frisian: -ber

relevant or suitable to, in accordance with

Dutch: various suffixes: (please verify) -ig (nl), (please verify) -lijk (nl), (please verify) -baar (nl), (please verify) -ieus, etc. Italian: (please verify) di (it), (please verify) al (it) m or (please verify) alla (it) f followed by the noun Swedish: -abel (sv), -bar (sv)

expressing capacity or worthiness in a passive sense

Dutch: -baar (nl) Esperanto: -ebla (eo) Finnish: -tava, -tävä Galician: -ábel m or f Italian: -ibile, -abile Japanese: -られる (ja) (rareru) Portuguese: -ável (pt), -ível (pt) Romanian: -bil Spanish: -able (es), -ible (es) Swedish: -bar (sv)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations. Translations to be checked

Latin: (please verify) -abilis, (please verify) -ibilis

See also

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• able
• Category:English unproductive suffixes

Etymology 2

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From Middle English, from Old French, from Latin -i- + -bulum (instrumental suffix) or -bula (instrumental suffix), from Proto-Indo-European *-dʰlom. Related to Latin suffixes -brum (candelabrum) and -bra (vertebra).

Suffix

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-ible

1. An instrumental suffix; forms nouns representing:
   1. a tool or instrument crucible, mandible, thurible
   2. a place or location

Usage notes

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This use of -ible is not productive in English. Confusion may arise from mistaking nouns ending with this suffix as being forms derived from the adjectival suffixes mentioned in Etymology 1 above.

Derived terms

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• crucible
• mandible
• thurible

Anagrams

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• bile, Biel, beli, Lieb

Catalan

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Latin -ibilis.

Suffix

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-ible m or f (adjective-forming suffix, masculine and feminine plural -ibles)

1. -ible, -able

Usage notes

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• This suffix is used for verbs of the second and third conjugations, which end in -er, -re or -ir. For the first-conjugation verbs, which end in -ar, the suffix is -able.

Derived terms

[edit] Catalan terms suffixed with -ible abatible assequible assolible atribuïble comestible deduïble discutible distingible exhaurible factible flexible guarible llegible oïble perceptible perdible perible preferible prescindible reconeixible rendible reprimible resistible servible sostenible submergible suprimible traduïble

French

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Etymology

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Inherited from Old French -ible, from Latin -ibilis.

Pronunciation

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• IPA(key): /ibl/

Suffix

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-ible (adjective-forming suffix, plural -ibles)

1. -ible

Derived terms

[edit] French terms suffixed with -ible admissible amovible appétible cessible circonscriptible combustible compressible descriptible dicible diffusible exigible explosible faillible indescriptible intervertible lisible miscible paisible pénible perfectible prédictible prescriptible réflexible réfrangible réinscriptible successible suggestible traduisible

Further reading

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• “-ible”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Old French

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Etymology

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From Latin -ibilis.

Suffix

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-ible

1. -ible (variant of -able)

Portuguese

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Pronunciation

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• (Northern Portugal) IPA(key): /ˈi.blɨ/ [ˈi.βlɨ]

Suffix

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-ible m or f (adjective-forming suffix, plural -ibles)

1. (Beira, Northern Portugal) alternative form of -ível

Related terms

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• -able

Spanish

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Etymology

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Inherited from Latin -ibilis.

Pronunciation

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• IPA(key): /ˈible/ [ˈi.β̞le]
• Rhymes: -ible
• Syllabification: -i‧ble

Suffix

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-ible m or f (adjective-forming suffix, masculine and feminine plural -ibles)

1. -ible

Derived terms

[edit] Spanish terms suffixed with -ible abatible aborrecible absorbible adquirible adscribible advertible apetecible asumible atendible atribuible bebible coercible concebible conferible consumible creíble debatible decible decidible deducible desteñible destruible digerible discutible disponible eludible entendible exigible extraíble fundible hundible imprimible inconmovible invertible irrebatible jodible medible obtenible oíble oponible ponible predecible presumible prevenible protegible punible querible reconocible recurrible redimible reducible removible repetible reproducible resistible resumible rompible servible sostenible sumergible sustituible temible traducible transcribible transferible vestible

Related terms

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• -able

Further reading

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• “-ible”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025