Realizable

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˌɹi.əˈlaɪz.ə.bl̩/

Definitions

1. Capable of being accomplished or brought into existence
2. Able to be successfully completed or implemented
3. Possible to carry out or make actual in practice

Etymology: "Realizable" is simply "realize" plus the suffix "-able," meaning "capable of being." The verb "realize" comes from "real," which passed into English from Old French "reel" and originally traces back to Late Latin "reālis," formed from Latin "rēs," meaning "thing" or "matter." The sense of making something actual is what gives the word its meaning: to realize a plan is to turn it from an idea into a thing that exists. The "-able" ending has a longer journey. It descends from Latin "-ābilis," which attached to verbs to mean "able to be" something, and reached English through Old French "-able" in Middle English. Because English speakers could attach it to almost any verb, it became a productive way to coin new adjectives. The French word "réalisable" follows the same pattern, showing that the two languages built this term along parallel lines from the same Latin materials.

Synonyms: achievable, attainable, feasible

Antonyms: unattainable, impossible