Restitutable

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Capable of being given back or returned to its prior condition
2. Capable of being returned to its original owner or condition after being taken or changed
3. Describes something that can be given back or reinstated to the state it was in before

Etymology: "Restitutable" is a plain formation: the verb "restitute," meaning to restore something to its former state or owner, with the suffix "-able" added to show that such restoration is possible. The verb itself reaches back to Latin "restituere," built from "re-" (back, again) and "statuere" (to set up, place), so the core idea is setting something back where it stood before. The suffix does most of the work here. "-able" comes from Latin "-abilis," and English has long used it to turn verbs into adjectives meaning "able to be done to." A restitutable thing is therefore one that could in principle be restored, whether a stolen object, a damaged structure, or a legal right that might be returned to its rightful holder.

Synonyms: reclaimable, recoverable, rescuable, retrievable, restorable

Antonyms: unrecoverable, irretrievable, irreversible, lost, forfeited