What does divinable mean?
Divinable is a rare, formal adjective meaning capable of being divined: knowable, discernible, or predictable in advance. It is most often used of outcomes, futures, motives, or other matters thought to be open to interpretation or foresight. In a sentence such as “Her plans were clear enough to be divinable,” the word suggests that the evidence permits a sound inference; it does not necessarily promise certainty. The term has an old-fashioned, elevated tone, so contemporary prose will usually prefer predictable, foreseeable, or knowable. Divinable should not be confused with divisible, which means able to be divided or separated. Though both words end in -able and can sound alike in some accents, their meanings and roots are different: one concerns divination and insight, while the other concerns division. Divinable is chiefly a literary or intellectual-register word rather than everyday vocabulary, and it is especially apt when discussing a future course of events that can be read from present signs.
adjectiveCapable of being divined; knowable, discernible, or predictable in advance.
- Capable of being divined; knowable, discernible, or predictable in advance.
"Her plans were clear enough to be divinable."
"Her motives were easy to divine, but the consequences were hardly divinable."
"Historians often recognize a pattern only after the event, making its outcome seem divinable in retrospect."
Divinable turns a prediction into a claim about what can be read from the signs.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does divinable come from?
Divinable was formed in English by combining divine with the suffix -able, literally giving it the sense “able to be divined.” Divine and its relatives such as divination, diviner, and divinity ultimately derive from Latin divinus, associated with divus, “god” or “godlike.” The adjective develops the sense of a matter that can be discerned or foretold, whether through signs, interpretation, or informed inference.
How divinable is actually used
This is a rare, formal, and somewhat literary word, especially natural in discussions of futures, outcomes, motives, and patterns of events. It usually implies that present evidence permits a reasonable inference, not that the outcome is certain.
Easily confused with divinable
Divinable means capable of being divined or understood in advance, whereas divisible means capable of being divided or separated.