Conceivables

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Capable of being formed or imagined in the mind; able to be understood as possible or imaginable; within the range of what can be thought of or believed
2. Capable of being mentally grasped or envisioned; possible to comprehend or accept as a concept; within the limits of what one can picture or suppose
3. Able to be conceived or visualized mentally; able to be understood as a potential or feasible idea; within the bounds of what can be regarded as thinkable or credible

Etymology: "Conceivables" is the plural of "conceivable," an adjective meaning imaginable or possible. It is built from "conceive," which comes from Old French "concevoir" and Latin "concipere," literally "to take in completely" or "to seize together," from "com-" (together) and "capere" (to take). The sense of forming a child in the womb came first, and the mental sense of forming an idea followed, which is why conceiving an idea and conceiving a baby share a root. "Conceivable" itself is formed by adding the suffix "-able" to "conceive," following the pattern of many Latin-derived English adjectives. Its use as a noun in the plural, meaning "things that can be conceived," is a comparatively recent and informal extension, so the word is mainly found in phrases such as "all the conceivables" or "every conceivable option."

Synonyms: possibilities, thinkables, imaginables, plausibles, believables

Antonyms: impossibilities, unthinkables, inconceivables, unimaginables, absurdities