What does resolvable mean?
Resolvable means that a question, dispute, difficulty, or difference can be settled, answered, or explained. It is a formal adjective that focuses on the possibility of reaching a solution rather than on the process of doing so. For example, a negotiator may describe a conflict as resolvable if compromise appears possible, while an analyst may call a technical problem resolvable when the available evidence seems sufficient. The word is related to resolve and resolution and belongs to the same Latin-root family as dissolve and absolve. In everyday English, solvable is often preferred because it is shorter and more familiar, but resolvable remains useful in legal, diplomatic, technical, and analytical writing. Its opposite is unresolvable or, in some contexts, irresolvable, although irresolvable can also suggest a matter that is exceptionally difficult to settle rather than one that is absolutely impossible to resolve.
adjectiveCapable of being resolved, settled, answered, or explained. It is used especially of questions, disputes, differences, and problems.
- Capable of being resolved, settled, or answered; able to be explained or brought to a conclusion.
"The committee considered the disagreement sufficiently resolvable to merit further mediation."
"The engineers concluded that the technical fault was resolvable without replacing the entire system."
"She regarded the apparently insoluble mystery as resolvable once more evidence became available."
Resolvable shares its Latin roots with resolve, dissolve, and absolve: all grow from the idea of loosening or separating what is bound together.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does resolvable come from?
Resolvable was formed in English by adding the suffix -able to resolve. Resolve comes through Middle English from Latin resolvere, a compound of re-, meaning back or again, and solvere, meaning to loosen or untie. The Latin root solvere also underlies cognates such as dissolve and absolve.
Related word forms
How resolvable is actually used
Relatively formal and uncommon in everyday speech. In general use, solvable is often more natural, though resolvable is especially common in legal, technical, and diplomatic contexts.
Easily confused with resolvable
Resolvable describes something that can be settled or explained, whereas resolute describes a person who is firmly determined.