Acceptable

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /əkˈsɛp.tə.bəl/

Definitions

1. Meeting a minimum standard or requirement that can be approved or tolerated
2. Conforming to a set standard that allows approval or use ; fitting or proper for a particular purpose or situation
3. Sufficient to be allowed or agreed upon according to rules or norms ; suitable or appropriate in a given context

Etymology: "Acceptable" carries a stronger sense of worthiness than its modern use suggests. Its Latin ancestor, "acceptabilis," meant "worthy of acceptance" or "pleasing," so the word originally described something deserving to be received favourably rather than something merely tolerable. Over centuries the sense softened, and today "acceptable" often signals grudging adequacy, as when a restaurant meal is described as acceptable. The word reached English through Middle English, which borrowed it from Anglo-Norman and Middle French forms of the Latin term. Those forms were themselves the product of Latin "accipere," "to receive," built from "ad-" ("to") and "capere" ("to take"). The same root gives English "accept," "reception," and "capture," all of which share the idea of taking something in. The construction is transparent: "accept" plus the suffix "-able," which marks something capable of being done. An acceptable thing is one that can be received, and in practice that means one that meets the standard required for receiving it, whether a rule, a norm, or a social expectation.

Synonyms: satisfactory, tolerable, agreeable, permissible, bearable

Antonyms: unacceptable, intolerable, insufferable, improper, inappropriate