Breachable

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Able to be broken into or circumvented, indicating a vulnerability to incursions or attacks, highlighting a scenario where protections can be evaded
2. Describing a situation where defenses are not impenetrable, signifying that access can be gained through flaws or shortcomings in security
3. Capable of being broken or penetrated, showing susceptibility to access or attack

Etymology: "Breachable" is a plain formation: the noun "breach" with the suffix "-able," meaning "capable of being." "Breach" comes from Old French "brèche," a gap or break in a wall, and the English noun "breach" entered the language with that sense of a broken opening. Attaching "-able" to it produces an adjective describing something that can be broken through or penetrated. The suffix "-able" has a long history of its own. It descends from Latin "-abilis," which attached to verb stems to mean "able to be" or "fit for," and it reached English through Old French "-able." English speakers have long used it freely on native and borrowed roots, which is why it can be added to nouns like "breach" as readily as to verbs. The adjective therefore carries the original image of a gap in a fortification, applied figuratively to a system, boundary, or defence that could be pierced. Its meaning follows directly from the parts: a breach is a break, and "-able" marks the possibility of it.

Synonyms: penetrable, passable

Antonyms: impenetrable, secure