acceptable

English Online Dictionary. What means acceptable‎? What does acceptable mean?

English

Alternative forms

• acceptible (dated)

Etymology

From Middle English acceptable, from Old French acceptable, from Late Latin acceptābilis (“worthy of acceptance”).

Morphologically accept +‎ -able.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /əkˈsɛp.tə.bəl/, /ækˈsɛp.tə.bəl/, /ɪkˈsɛp.tə.bəl/
• (obsolete) IPA^(key): /ˈæksɛp.tə.bəl/
• Hyphenation: ac‧cep‧ti‧ble

Adjective

acceptable (comparative more acceptable, superlative most acceptable)

1. Worthy, decent, sure of being accepted or received with at least moderate pleasure.
2. Barely worthy, less than excellent; passable.

Synonyms

• (worthy): See Thesaurus:good
• (passable): See Thesaurus:satisfactory

Antonyms

• rejectable
• unacceptable, inacceptable

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

Noun

acceptable (plural acceptables)

1. Someone or something that is acceptable.

   Antonym: rejectable

References

Further reading

• “acceptable”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “acceptable”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
• “acceptable”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin acceptābilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ək.səpˈtab.blə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ak.sepˈta.ble]
• Rhymes: -ablə, -able

Adjective

acceptable m or f (masculine and feminine plural acceptables)

1. acceptable

   Antonym: inacceptable

Derived terms

• acceptablement
• inacceptable

Further reading

• “acceptable” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “acceptable”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025
• “acceptable” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “acceptable” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Danish

Adjective

acceptable

1. definite singular of acceptabel
2. plural of acceptabel

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin acceptābilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ak.sɛp.tabl/

Adjective

acceptable (plural acceptables)

1. acceptable

   Antonym: inacceptable

Related terms

• accepter

Further reading

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

Swedish

Adjective

acceptable

1. definite natural masculine singular of acceptabel

Anagrams

• acceptabel