What does feasibleness mean?
Feasibleness is a noun meaning the quality of being feasible — that is, the extent to which something can be done, accomplished, or put into practice given real-world constraints of time, money, and resources. When engineers weigh the feasibleness of a tunnel, or a committee questions the feasibleness of a policy proposal, they are asking whether the idea can actually be carried out, not merely whether it is desirable. The word is a close cousin of the much more common 'feasibility': the two are interchangeable in meaning, and both trace back to the same root meaning 'that which can be done'. In practice, feasibleness has become rare and carries a distinctly formal, even antique flavor, appearing mostly in older texts or deliberately elevated prose; everyday and technical writing overwhelmingly favors 'feasibility'. Like its common counterpart, it is an uncountable noun, so it has no plural form. For readers, encountering feasibleness is a reminder that English often preserves older, parallel forms long after one variant has won out.
nounThe quality or state of being feasible; the degree to which something is capable of being done, achieved, or put into practice with the available means.
- The quality of being feasible; practicability or workability of a plan, project, or course of action.
"The committee questioned the feasibleness of completing the bridge before winter set in."
"Engineers assessed the feasibleness of drilling a tunnel beneath the river."
"In her memoir she reflects on the feasibleness of her youthful ambitions with gentle irony."
Before 'feasibility study' became boardroom shorthand, English speakers reached for 'feasibleness' — a word that does exactly the same job but has all but vanished from modern use.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of feasibleness
Feasibleness is built from the adjective 'feasible' plus the noun-forming suffix '-ness', following a common English pattern for creating abstract qualities (as in 'goodness' or 'kindness'). The adjective 'feasible' derives from the Old French 'faisable', from 'faire' ('to do'), ultimately from Latin 'facere', meaning 'to make or do'. The word thus belongs to a large family of English terms descended from that productive Latin verb, including 'effectuate' and 'feature'. As a variant of 'feasibility', feasibleness has been overshadowed by its Latinate rival and is now encountered only rarely.
Related word forms
How feasibleness is actually used
Feasibleness is a rare and somewhat archaic synonym of the far more common 'feasibility'. It carries a formal, old-fashioned tone and may strike modern readers as unusual; most contemporary writing prefers 'feasibility' (as in 'feasibility study'). It is an uncountable noun and is not used in the plural.
Easily confused with feasibleness
Both mean 'the state of being feasible', but 'feasibility' is the standard modern term, while 'feasibleness' is an older, rarer variant that now sounds archaic or formal.