What does obtainability mean?
Obtainability names the quality or condition of something being able to be obtained, acquired, or secured. It is especially useful when the issue is not whether a resource exists in principle, but whether ordinary users or researchers can realistically gain access to it. For example, a government report might discuss the obtainability of medical records, while an academic paper might evaluate the obtainability of data held in an archive. The word is formal and relatively uncommon, appearing mainly in scholarly, legal, and technical contexts; in less specialized writing, availability or accessibility often serves the same purpose more naturally. Obtainability can also imply a practical assessment of access rather than a simple claim that something theoretically exists, making it useful in discussions of transparency, research access, and public information.
nounThe quality or condition of being able to be obtained, acquired, or made available.
- The quality or possibility of being obtained, acquired, or secured.
"The study examined the obtainability of the archival records for independent researchers."
"The report questions the obtainability of the data from several restricted archives."
"Technological developments have greatly improved the obtainability of specialist information."
The plural is grammatically regular but very rarely encountered; the singular is far more common.
"The researchers compared the obtainabilities of records held by several institutions."
Sometimes the hard part is not whether a thing exists, but whether anyone can get it.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does obtainability come from?
Obtainability is a modern English formation combining obtain with the suffix -ability. Obtain entered English through Old French obtenir, from Latin obtinere, which was built from ob- and tenere, meaning "to hold." The same Latin foundation also produced related English forms such as obtainable and obtainment.
Related word forms
How obtainability is actually used
Formal and uncommon, chiefly used in academic, legal, or technical writing. In everyday speech, availability or accessibility will usually sound more natural.
Easily confused with obtainability
Obtainability is the abstract quality of being obtainable, whereas obtainable is an adjective describing something that can be obtained.