What does expellable mean?
Expellable is a formal adjective meaning capable of being expelled, removed, or forced to leave. It describes a person, thing, or condition that an authority has the power or grounds to exclude. For example, a student may be expellable after violating school policy, or officials may declare trespassers expellable from a property. The word is less common than removable or dismissible and tends to occur in legal, educational, institutional, or administrative writing. Although related to expulsion, expellable is not itself the past tense: expelled describes someone or something that has already been removed, whereas expellable describes what could be removed under the applicable rules. Its ending also suggests possibility, much as acceptable means permitted and dismissible means subject to dismissal.
adjectiveCapable of being expelled or forced to leave; subject to expulsion.
- Capable of being expelled, removed, or excluded.
"Students who commit a serious violation may be expellable from the academy."
"The committee considered whether the member was expellable under the organization's rules."
"Trespassers on the restricted property were deemed expellable by security personnel."
Expellable describes what can be forced out; expelled describes what has already been driven out.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does expellable come from?
Expellable was formed from expel with the adjective suffix -able, meaning “capable of being” expelled. Expel comes from Latin expellere, formed from ex-, meaning “out,” and pellere, meaning “to drive” or “push.” Related English words including repel, impel, and compel reflect the same Latin root in combinations expressing pushing, forcing, or driving.
How expellable is actually used
This is a formal and relatively uncommon word, used especially in legal, educational, institutional, or administrative contexts. Removable and dismissible are often more natural in general usage.
Easily confused with expellable
Expellable means capable of being expelled, while expulsive means tending to drive something or someone away.