English

edit

Etymology

edit

    From think + -able.

    Pronunciation

    edit
    • IPA(key): /ˈθɪŋkəbəl/
    • Audio (US):(file)

    Adjective

    edit

    thinkable (comparative more thinkable, superlative most thinkable)

    1. Able to be thought or imagined; conceivable.
      • 1978 [1976], Leszek Kołakowski, translated by P[aul] S[teven] Falla, Main Currents of Marxism, volume I: The Founders, Oxford: Clarendon Press, translation of Główne nurty marksizmu: powstanie (in Polish), →ISBN, →OCLC, page 131:
        Marx held that a society from which all sources of conflict, aggression, and evil have been thus extirpated was not only thinkable, but was historically imminent.
      • 2023 May 27, Ray Sanchez, “Does Brian Laundrie’s mom risk criminal charges over her ‘burn after reading’ letter? Here’s what legal experts say”, in CNN[1], archived from the original on 27 May 2023:
        “Nothing can separate us; not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not threats, not even sin, not the thinkable or unthinkable can get between us,” it reads.
    2. (rare) Morally acceptable or legal.

    Antonyms

    edit

    Derived terms

    edit

    Translations

    edit

    Noun

    edit

    thinkable (plural thinkables)

    1. (philosophy) Something that can be thought about.