Revocable

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Subject to change or cancellation, especially in agreements or permissions
2. Able to be undone or taken back, particularly in terms of decisions or legal permissions
3. Describes something that can be canceled or reversed after it has been given or agreed upon

Etymology: "Revocable" is a straightforward formation: it is "revoke" with the suffix "-able" attached, meaning "capable of being done." The verb "revoke" traces back to Latin "revocare," "to call back," built from "re-" (back) and "vocare" (to call), the same "vocare" that gives English "vocal" and "vocation." So a revocable gift or permission is one that can be called back. The adjective itself was borrowed from Middle French "révocable," which came through Old French from the Latin "revocabilis." Its core picture is therefore physical and literal: a summons that can be reversed, a voice that can be recalled. The legal sense of a thing that can be taken back after being granted is the one the word has kept most consistently.

Synonyms: modifiable, retractable

Antonyms: irrevocable