adjective
passable
PA-suh-buhl
adjective
1
Good enough to be acceptable, though not excellent.
"His French was passable, if a little rusty."
2
Able to be travelled or crossed.
"The mountain road is only passable in summer."
How to Use Passable
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishEither "okay, not great" (for quality) or "able to be crossed" (for a road, river, etc).
Common pairings
a passable attempt
barely passable
passable road
Word Forms
more passable comparative, most passable superlative
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His French was _____, if a little rusty.
Etymology
From French passable, built from "pass" plus the suffix -able, "able to be."