Standard Lemma guide

workable

adj · 3 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.

  • CMU ARPABET: W ER1 K AH0 B AH0 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Capable of functioning.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • They came up with a workable solution, until they could think of something better.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Able to be worked or fashioned

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adjective satellite

Meaning 3

capable of being done with means at hand and circumstances as they are

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: feasible, executable, practicable, viable

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *werǵ- Proto-Indo-European *-om Proto-Indo-European *wérǵom Proto-Germanic *werką Proto-West Germanic *werk Old English weorc Middle English werk English work Proto-Indo-European *-dhlom Proto-Indo-European *-dhlis Proto-Italic *-ðlis Latin -bilis Latin -ābilis Old French -ablebor. Middle English -able English -able English workable From work + -able.

Across languages

Translations

22 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: реа́лен (reálen) — capable of functioning
  • Bulgarian: осъществи́м (osǎštestvím) — capable of functioning
  • Finnish: toimiva — capable of functioning
  • Finnish: käyttökelpoinen — capable of functioning
  • German: machbar — capable of functioning
  • German: brauchbar — capable of functioning
  • German: funktionsfähig — capable of functioning
  • German: umsetzbar — capable of functioning
  • German: praktikabel — capable of functioning
  • Italian: praticabile — capable of functioning
  • Manx: yn-obbraghey — capable of functioning
  • Polish: sprawny — capable of functioning
  • Polish: efektywny — capable of functioning
  • Spanish: servir — capable of functioning
  • Bulgarian: обработваем (obrabotvaem) — able to be worked or fashioned
  • French: œuvrable — able to be worked or fashioned
  • Italian: lavorabile — able to be worked or fashioned
  • Italian: trattabile — able to be worked or fashioned
  • Serbo-Croatian: обра̀див — able to be worked or fashioned
  • Serbo-Croatian: obràdiv — able to be worked or fashioned
  • Spanish: mañero — able to be worked or fashioned
  • Spanish: laborable — able to be worked or fashioned