acceptable

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/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Adjective

acceptable (comparative more acceptable, superlative most acceptable)

1. Worthy, decent, sure of being accepted or received with at least moderate pleasure.

   We need to find an acceptable present for Jeff.

   • 1883, United States. War Department, Annual Reports of the War Department, volume 1, page 128:

     I think if post commanders of the unchaplained posts could employ acceptable clergymen […] then the needs might be met.

2. Barely worthy, less than excellent; passable.

   The designs were acceptable, but they were nothing special either.

Synonyms

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

Antonyms

• rejectable
• unacceptable, inacceptable

Derived terms

• acceptableness
• acceptably
• inacceptably
• nonacceptable

 

Related terms

• acceptability

Translations

capable, worthy or sure of being accepted

• Armenian: ընդունելի (hy) (ənduneli)
• Azerbaijani: məqbul, qəbul edilə bilən, münasib
• Belarusian: прыма́льны m (prymálʹny)
• Bulgarian: приемлив (bg) (priemliv), допустим (bg) (dopustim)
• Catalan: acceptable (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 可接受的 (kě jiēshòu de)

• Cornish: kemeradow
• Czech: přijatelný (cs) m
• Dutch: aanvaardbaar (nl), acceptabel (nl)
• Esperanto: akceptebla, akceptinda
• Estonian: vastuvõetav
• Finnish: hyväksyttävä (fi)
• French: acceptable (fr) m or f, admissible (fr) m or f
• Galician: aceptable (gl)
• German: annehmbar (de), akzeptabel (de)
• Gothic: 𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌰𐌽𐌴𐌼𐍃 (andanēms)
• Greek: παραδεκτός (el) (paradektós), δεκτός (el) (dektós), αποδεκτός (el) (apodektós)

  Ancient: παραδεκτός (paradektós), ἀπόδεκτος (apódektos)

• Hungarian: elfogadható (hu)
• Icelandic: ásættanlegur (is)
• Interlingua: acceptabile
• Italian: accettabile (it)
• Latin: acceptus
• Malayalam: സ്വീകാര്യമായ (svīkāryamāya)
• Marathi: स्वीकार्य (svīkārya)
• Norwegian: antakelig
• Polish: akceptowalny (pl), dopuszczalny (pl)
• Portuguese: aceitável (pt)
• Romanian: acceptabil (ro)
• Russian: прие́млемый (ru) (prijémlemyj)
• Spanish: aceptable (es), asumible
• Swedish: acceptabel (sv), godtagbar (sv), tacknämlig (sv)
• Tagalog: katanggap-tanggap
• Telugu: అంగీకార యోగ్యమైన (aṅgīkāra yōgyamaina)
• Turkish: kabul edilebilir, uygun (tr), makbul (tr)
• Ukrainian: прийня́тний (pryjnjátnyj)
• Welsh: cymeradwy (cy), derbyniol (cy)

Noun

acceptable (plural acceptables)

1. Someone or something that is acceptable.

   Antonym: rejectable

   • 1922, Madhusūdan Kaul, “Introduction”, in Sri Mālinīvijayottara Tantram (Kashmir Series of Texts and Studies; XXXVII), Bombay: […] “Tatva-vivechaka” Press, page xvii:

     The whole range of the knowable is divided into two classes, the acceptable and the avoidable. The acceptables are: Śiva, Śakti, Vidyesa, Mantra, Mantreśvara and the Jivas.

   • c. 1929–1930, Harry Alan Potamkin, “A Diet of Stars”, in Lewis Jacobs, editor, The Compound Cinema: The Film Writings of Harry Alan Potamkin (Studies in Culture & Communication), New York, N.Y.; London: Teachers College Press, published 1977, →ISBN, part 3 (Miscellany), section 9 (Other Writings), page 565:

     The good old acceptables are called “character” actors. An actor of the versatile order is called, casually, even contemptuously, a “character” actor.

   • 1941 July 4, Henry Klein, “The Dental Status and Dental Needs of Young Adult Males, Rejectable or Acceptable for Military Service, According to Selective Service Dental Requirements”, in Public Health Reports, volume 56, number 27, Washington, D.C.: United States Public Health Service, pages 1373–1374:

     Close to 3 percent of the acceptables are free of DMF teeth while none of the rejectables have fewer than 7 DMF teeth.

   • 1974 June 19, Ray Wells, “The Church and the Aging”, in The Free Will Baptist, Ayden, N.C., page 5, column 3:

     The church will not be content to see that older persons are housed and entertained, or even that acceptables are worked out to provide them with therapy and income from jobs.

Further reading

• “acceptable”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “acceptable”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →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, 2024
• “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/

• Audio:

  (file)

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