What does comprisable mean?
Comprisable is a rare formal adjective meaning able to be understood, mentally grasped, or included within a particular scope. In modern English, its most natural sense is close to comprehensible: a motive, explanation, or principle may be described as readily comprisable when its meaning is not difficult to take in. Older usages can also refer to something capable of being included in a larger whole, reflecting the relationship between the word and comprise. The term is chiefly literary or technical and has a dated, precise quality; in everyday discussion, understandable or comprehensible is nearly always more direct. Comprisable is especially useful when the intended emphasis is on grasping a larger concept rather than merely recognizing that a sentence has a clear meaning. It belongs to the same Latin-derived family as comprehend, comprise, comprehensible, and comprehensive, all of which trace to the idea of taking hold of something or including it within something else.
adjectiveAble to be understood or mentally grasped; comprehensible. In older usage, also able to be included or contained within a larger whole.
- Able to be understood or mentally grasped.
- Able to be included or contained within a larger whole.
"The motive was readily comprisable, even if the method was not."
"The motive was readily comprisable, even if the method was not."
"Such a broad conclusion is not readily comprisable from the available evidence."
A precise, old-fashioned alternative to comprehensible, with a Latin ancestry that links understanding and taking something in.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does comprisable come from?
Comprisable belongs to the Latin-rooted family of comprehendere, meaning “to grasp, take in, or include,” with the prefix com- emphasizing completeness. Related words reached English through Old French and include comprehend, comprise, comprehensible, and comprehensive. The older sense of including or containing is especially clear in comprise, while modern use of the family also strongly emphasizes understanding.
How comprisable is actually used
Rare, formal, and somewhat literary; in ordinary modern use, comprehensible or understandable is usually more natural. It can sound old-fashioned or affected in casual speech.
Easily confused with comprisable
Compressible means capable of being compressed or reduced in volume, whereas comprisable means understandable or capable of being included in something.
Comparable means suitable or able to be compared, whereas comprisable means understandable or capable of being included within a larger scope.