Increasable

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Able to be expanded or increased in extent or amount
2. Susceptible to enhancement or growth in magnitude or size
3. Capable of having its size, amount, or degree made larger by some action

Etymology: "Increasable" is a straightforward formation: the verb "increase" with the suffix "-able" attached. The suffix has a longer ancestry than the base word. It descends through Middle English "-able" from Old French "-able", which came from Latin "-ābilis" and "-bilis", the adjective-forming element meaning "capable of being" or "able to be" what the base verb describes. Behind the Latin lies a Proto-Italic form, and further back a Proto-Indo-European root that also gave rise to the Latin suffix's sense of ability and fitness. Because "-able" is so productive in English, speakers can attach it to nearly any transitive verb whenever they need to describe something as capable of that action. "Increasable" follows that pattern exactly, giving the sense "able to grow" or "capable of being increased." It is a transparent coinage rather than an old inherited word, so its meaning follows directly from its two parts.

Synonyms: expandable, augmentable, amplifiable, extendable, enhanceable

Antonyms: decreasable, diminishable, reducible