Robable

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Capable of being proven or demonstrated to be true ; susceptible to verification or confirmation through evidence
2. Able to be established as a fact or reality by providing sufficient proof ; open to being substantiated or supported by logical argument or data
3. Likely to be shown as genuine or accurate through valid demonstration ; subject to validation or justification by reliable means

Etymology: "Robable" is a rare English adjective meaning "capable of being proved," and it is built from "prove" plus the suffix "-able." The root comes from Latin "probare," meaning "to test, examine, or approve," which in turn is related to "probus," meaning "good" or "upright," the sense that something has been tested and found sound. English took "prove" through Old French "prover" in the late Middle Ages, and the "-able" suffix, from Latin "-abilis," was attached to form words describing what can be done to something. The form "robable" is an alteration of "provable," with the initial "pro-" reduced to "ro-" in the pronunciation and spelling. Its exact spelling history is less clear than the root, and it has never been common. For that reason, "provable" is the standard form, and "robable" shows up mainly in older or unusual writing.

Synonyms: likely, probable, plausible, credible, believable

Antonyms: improbable, unlikely, impossible, doubtful, unbelievable