Assailable

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /əˈseɪləbl̩/

Definitions

1. Capable of being attacked, criticized, or questioned successfully
2. Vulnerable to attack, critique, or challenge in a defensible manner
3. Open to successful assault, opposition, or inquiry regarding its validity or strength

Etymology: "Assailable" is a straightforward formation: it is the adjective "assail" with the suffix "-able," meaning capable of being acted upon. "Assail" itself came into English from Old French "assaillir," which goes back to Latin "assilire," to leap upon or attack, built from "ad-" (toward) and "salire" (to leap). So the core idea is physical: something leaping at you. The suffix "-able" has a longer journey. It descends from Latin "-bilis" and "-ābilis," which attached to verb stems to mean "able to be" something, and it reached English through Old French "-able." Middle English adopted it freely, and English speakers went on attaching it to native and borrowed verbs for centuries. The pattern produced a huge family of words, from "readable" to "breakable." Because "assailable" simply combines the two, its sense follows naturally: a claim, position, or argument that can be attacked. Its meaning moved from bodily assault toward the intellectual sense of being open to criticism.

Synonyms: vulnerable, attackable

Antonyms: secure, invulnerable