
[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.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.
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.
| poverty, poorness, potter, potence, potency | |
| practically, practice, practise, pre- |
adjective
Definition: within the realm of possibility
Antonyms: impossible, impracticable, unattainable, unreasonable, unworkable
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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