practicable

(prăk'tĭ-kə-bəl)
adj.

1. Capable of being effected, done, or put into practice; feasible. See synonyms at possible.
2. Usable for a specified purpose: a practicable way of entry.

[Medieval Latin prācticābilis, capable of being used, from prācticāre, to practice, from prāctica, practice, from Greek prāktikē, practical science, from feminine of prāktikos, fit for action, practical, from prāssein, prāk-, to make, do.]

practicability prac'ti·ca·bil'i·ty n.
practicably prac'ti·ca·bly adv.

USAGE NOTE   It is easy to confuse practicable and practical because they look so much alike and overlap in meaning. Practicable means "feasible" as well as "usable," and it cannot be applied to persons. Practical has at least eight meanings, including the sense "capable of being put into effect, useful," wherein the confusion with practicable arises. But there is a subtle distinction between these words that is worth keeping. For the purpose of ordering coffee in a Parisian café, if would be practical (that is, useful) to learn some French, but it still might not be practicable for someone with a busy schedule and little time to learn.

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Practical usually has a general application, denoting what is possible in practice as distinct from theory, and can also describe a person ('inclined to action rather than speculation, able to make things work well'), whereas practicable means 'able to be carried out, feasible', is more usually applied to a particular instance under consideration, and occurs much less often in attributive position (before a noun):

I need to be practical but would like to look feminine as well—Clothes Show, 1991

Woodblock has been used for a beautiful, yet practical, floor covering—Ideal Home, 1991

As long as is practicable, therapy should be continued, even in patients with advanced disease—American Family Physician, 2000.

The negative forms are discussed at the entry for impracticable, impractical.

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adjective

1. Capable of occurring or being done: feasible, possible, viable, workable. Idioms: within reach. See possible/impossible.
2. Serving or capable of serving a useful purpose: functional, handy, practical, serviceable, useful, utilitarian. See used/unused.
3. Available for use: accessible, employable, open, operable, operative, usable, utilizable. See possible/impossible.

adj

Definition: within the realm of possibility
Antonyms: impossible, impracticable, unattainable, unreasonable, unworkable

IN BRIEF: Able to be accomplished. Also: Usable.

It did not seem practicable to go to the store in that short amount of time.

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Dansk (Danish)
adj. - mulig, gennemførlig, anvendelig, fremkommelig

Nederlands (Dutch)
uitvoerbaar, bruikbaar, doenlijk, handig

Français (French)
adj. - réalisable, praticable

Deutsch (German)
adj. - durchführbar, praktikabel

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - δυνατός, εφικτός, κατορθωτός, πραγματοποιήσιμος, εφαρμόσιμος, πρακτικός, (για δρόμους κ.λπ.) βατός, διαβατός

Italiano (Italian)
praticabile, pratico

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - praticável, viável

Русский (Russian)
осуществимый, целесообразный

Español (Spanish)
adj. - practicable, realizable, práctico

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - görlig, genomförbar, användbar, framkomlig

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
可实行的, 可用的, 可做的

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 可實行的, 可用的, 可做的

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 실행할 수 있는, 사용할 수 있는

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 実行できる, 実用向きの, 通行可能の, 実際に使用できる, 実行可能な, 通行可能な

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) ممكن عمله‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮שימושי, מעשי‬

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