What does predicable mean?
Predicable is a formal adjective meaning able to be predicted or foreseen. It describes an outcome, event, or development when there is enough information to anticipate what will happen. The term is closely related in meaning to predictable, but it is less common and tends to sound more formal or technical. In ordinary usage, predictable is also applied to recurring human behavior, while predicable is more often reserved for results or future events. For example, a market reaction may be described as predicable when the available evidence points clearly to a particular response. The word is not usually used to suggest that something is certain, only that its course can reasonably be anticipated. Its unusual sound may make it especially memorable, and its Latin ancestry connects it with a family of English words including predict, predicate, and preach, all associated in origin with the idea of saying or stating something.
adjectiveAble to be predicted or foreseen. The term is formal and is less common than the more widely used predictable.
- Able to be predicted or foreseen.
"The committee's decision was sufficiently predicable that few delegates were surprised."
"The result was sufficiently predicable that investors had already anticipated it."
"Nothing about the storm's path was sufficiently predicable, so the warning covered only the immediate danger."
Predicable points toward the idea of saying beforehand: its Latin root combines “before” with “say.”
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of predicable
Predicable entered English in the early 17th century from Latin predicabilis, formed from praedicare, “to proclaim, announce, or state.” Praedicare was built from prae-, meaning “before,” and dicere, meaning “to say.” English words including predict, predicate, and preach ultimately belong to this same Latin verbal family.
Related word forms
How predicable is actually used
Predicable is formal and comparatively uncommon. It is especially used of outcomes, events, and courses of action, whereas predictable is much more frequent and is also commonly applied to people's behavior.
Easily confused with predicable
Predicable is a more formal word for something that can be foreseen, whereas predictable is also commonly used for behavior that follows an obvious or stereotyped pattern.
Predicable is an adjective meaning able to be predicted, while predicate is a verb meaning to state or a noun referring to a statement or logical term.