What does revisable mean?
Revisable means that something can be revised: changed, improved, amended, or reconsidered. The word is especially common in editorial, academic, publishing, and legal settings, where a document may be described as revisable until its wording has been formally approved. It emphasizes the possibility of further change rather than whether a change is likely or desirable. For example, a revisable draft can still be edited, while a final and authorized report may no longer be revisable. The word can also imply that a matter is subject to revision, as in a contract that remains revisable until both parties agree. Although revisionable is a recognizable variant, revisable is the more established and conventional form in contemporary English. In ordinary conversation, people may simply say that something is open to changes or still open to revision, especially when they wish to avoid formal or technical language.
adjectiveCapable of being revised or reconsidered. In edited and legal writing, it may also mean subject to revision.
- Capable of being revised, amended, or reconsidered.
- Subject to revision; not yet final.
"The committee considered the draft revisable before approving its final wording."
"The wording of the agreement remained revisable until both parties had signed it."
"Editors may need to work quickly when a report is only briefly revisable."
Some decisions are revisable, which is useful when the choice you made yesterday no longer seems the best one today.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does revisable come from?
Revisable was formed in the early 19th century from the Latin-derived verb revise, meaning to look at again or correct, together with the suffix -able, meaning capable of being. The verb revise itself comes through French from Latin revidere, a compound of re- and videre, both meaning again and to see respectively. The same Latin root underlies revision and related terms concerned with reviewing or correcting.
Related word forms
How revisable is actually used
The adjective is formal and occurs especially in editorial, academic, and legal contexts. In American English, revisionable is also used, but revisable is widely understood in both British and American usage.
Easily confused with revisable
Both words mean capable of being revised, although revisable is the more established form in modern English.
Revisable describes something that can be changed, while revised describes something that has already been changed.