adj · noun · 7 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
/ˈkɒmpəɹəbəl/
[ˈkhɒmphəɹəbəl] ~ [ˈkhɒmphɹəbl̩]
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
/kəmˈpæɹəbəl/
[kəmˈpæɹəbəl] ~ [kəmˈpæɹəbl̩]
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
/ˈkɑmpɚəbəl/
[ˈkhɑmphɚəbəl] ~ [ˈkhɑmphɹ̩əbl̩]
/kəmˈpɛɹəbəl/
[kəmˈpɛɹəbəl] ~ [kəmˈpɛɹəbl̩]
CMU ARPABET:K AA1 M P ER0 AH0 B AH0 L
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
CMU ARPABET 2:K AH0 M P EH1 R AH0 B AH0 L
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
CMU ARPABET 3:K AH0 M P R AH0 B AH0 L
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
adj
Meaning 1
Able to be compared (to).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: often
Examples
An elephant is comparable in size to a double-decker bus.
You can't say that robbing a bank is like pickpocketing. The two are just not comparable.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
adj
Meaning 2
Similar (to); like.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: often
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
adj
Meaning 3
Constituting a pair in a particular partial order.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: mathematics, sciences
Examples
Six and forty-two are comparable in the divides order, but six and nine are not.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
adj
Meaning 4
Having comparative and superlative forms.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
"Big" is a comparable adjective because it can take the forms "bigger" and "biggest"; "unique" and "amazing", in contrast, are not comparable adjectives.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: gradable
Antonyms: none provided
5
noun
Meaning 5
Something suitable for comparison.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
6
adjective
Meaning 6
able to be compared or worthy of comparison
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: incomparable
7
adjective satellite
Meaning 7
conforming in every respect
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
boxes with corresponding dimensions
the like period of the preceding year
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: corresponding, like
Antonyms: none provided
History
Etymology
From Middle English comparable, from Middle French comparable, from Latin comparābilis. By surface analysis, compare + -able.
Across languages
Translations
47 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Asturian:
comparable
— able to be compared
Bulgarian:
сравним
(sravnim)
— able to be compared
Catalan:
comparable
— able to be compared
Chinese Mandarin:
比得上
(bǐdeshàng)
— able to be compared
Chinese Mandarin:
可比較的
— able to be compared
Chinese Mandarin:
可比较的
(kě bǐjiào de)
— able to be compared
Czech:
srovnatelný
— able to be compared
Dutch:
vergelijkbaar
— able to be compared
Esperanto:
komparebla
— able to be compared
Finnish:
verrattavissa oleva
— able to be compared
French:
comparable
— able to be compared
Galician:
comparable
— able to be compared
Galician:
comparábel
— able to be compared
German:
vergleichbar
— able to be compared
German:
steigerbar
— able to be compared
German:
komparabel
— able to be compared
German:
komparierbar
— able to be compared
German:
graduierbar
— able to be compared
Greek:
συγκρίσιμος
(sygkrísimos)
— able to be compared
Hindi:
तुल्य
(tulya)
— able to be compared
Hungarian:
összehasonlítható
— able to be compared
Hungarian:
összemérhető
— able to be compared
Hungarian:
fogható
— able to be compared
Hungarian:
hasonlítható
— able to be compared
Hungarian:
mérhető
— able to be compared
Italian:
comparabile
— able to be compared
Japanese:
比較できる
(hikaku dekiru)
— able to be compared
Korean:
비슷하다
(biseuthada)
— able to be compared
Korean:
견줄 만하다
(gyeonjul manhada)
— able to be compared
Korean:
비교(比較)할 수 있다
(bigyohal su itda)
— able to be compared
Korean:
비교(比較)가 가능(可能)하다
(bigyo-ga ganeunghada)
— able to be compared
Macedonian:
споредлив
(sporedliv)
— able to be compared
Middle English:
comparable
— able to be compared
Norwegian:
sammenlignbar
— able to be compared
Norwegian:
komparabel
— able to be compared
Old English:
wiþmetendlīċ
— able to be compared
Polish:
porównywalny
— able to be compared
Portuguese:
comparável
— able to be compared
Romanian:
comparabil
— able to be compared
Russian:
сравни́мый
(sravnímyj)
— able to be compared
Russian:
сопостави́мый
(sopostavímyj)
— able to be compared
Slovak:
porovnateľný
— able to be compared
Spanish:
comparable
— able to be compared
Spanish:
equiparable
— able to be compared
Swedish:
jämförbar
— able to be compared
Turkish:
karşılaştırılabilir
— able to be compared
Ukrainian:
порівня́нний
(porivnjánnyj)
— able to be compared
