What does omissible mean?
Omissible is a formal adjective meaning capable of being omitted, left out, or excluded. It is useful when the omission of an element would not materially affect the meaning, validity, or usefulness of a statement, document, or process. The word appears in legal, editorial, bureaucratic, and technical contexts, often when discussing optional information, details, provisions, or steps. It should be distinguished from “omitted,” which describes something that has already been left out. Omissible also differs from “optional”: optional means that a choice is available, while omissible focuses on whether removal is permissible or inconsequential. Although relatively uncommon in everyday speech, it offers a precise way to say that something can be excluded without loss or distortion.
adjectiveAble to be omitted or left out without making a statement incomplete, incorrect, or unusable.
- Able to be omitted or left out, especially because doing so does not affect the meaning, validity, or usefulness of something.
"The editor noted that the final paragraph contained several omissible details."
"Several omissible details were removed from the summary."
"In some legal documents, apparently omissible signatures may still be required for the record to be complete."
A rare but precise word for something that can be left out without changing the meaning: the missing detail is not merely absent, but omissible.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does omissible come from?
Omissible was formed in English from the Latin-derived verb omit and the suffix -ible, meaning “able to be.” The Latin verb omittere came from ob-, meaning “away,” and mittere, meaning “send.” The same Latin root appears in related English words such as admit, submit, and transmit. The English form is uncommon today but remains especially useful in formal and legal contexts.
Related word forms
How omissible is actually used
Relatively formal and uncommon, especially outside legal, editorial, and technical writing. It describes something that is capable of being omitted, not necessarily something that has already been omitted.
Easily confused with omissible
Omissible describes something that can be left out, whereas omitted describes something that has actually been left out.
Omissible means optional, while indispensable means necessary and impossible to leave out.