Achievable

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /əˈt͡ʃivəbəl/

Definitions

1. Capable of being accomplished or attained through effort
2. Attainable goals can be reached through effort and planning while remaining realistic and within one's capacity
3. Something that can realistically be accomplished or attained after putting in the necessary work and resources

Etymology: "Achievable" is a plain formation: the verb "achieve" with the suffix "-able" attached. The suffix comes through a long chain. It descends from Latin "-abilis," which turned verbs into adjectives meaning "able to be done," and passed into English through Old French "-able." Middle English already had the suffix in words like "lovable" and "readable," so English speakers could add it to a verb whenever they needed a new one. The verb underneath it has a more interesting path. "Achieve" was borrowed into Middle English as "achieven," from Old French "achever," meaning "to bring to an end" or "to finish." The Old French verb is built from "a-" plus "chief," from Latin "caput," "head." So to achieve something was originally to bring it to its head, or to its completion. The sense of gaining a goal through effort developed later. Put together, "achievable" describes something that can be brought to completion, which is why it means reachable through effort rather than simply possible.

Synonyms: attainable, reachable, feasible, realizable, obtainable

Antonyms: unattainable, impossible, infeasible, unreachable, hopeless