Eradicable

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Able to be wiped out entirely, so that nothing of it remains or can return
2. Capable of being rooted out and destroyed completely from a place or system
3. Describing something that can be totally removed or abolished once and for all

Etymology: "Eradicable" is built from two parts that each carry a clear physical image. The first is the Latin verb "ērādīcāre," meaning to uproot, formed from "ē-" (out of, away) and "rādīx," root. To eradicate something was literally to pull it out by the roots, which is why gardeners and farmers were the first to use the idea in its literal sense before it spread to diseases, prejudices and problems. The suffix comes from Latin "-bilis," meaning capable of being or able to be done, the same ending found in "readable" or "washable." Put together, an eradicable thing is one that can be pulled up root and all. The word is a straightforward English formation on the Latin model, so the root-pulling image sits right inside it.

Synonyms: eliminable, removable

Antonyms: ineradicable