adaptable

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd

Proto-Italic *ad

Proto-Italic *ad-

Latin ad-

Proto-Italic *aptos

Latin aptus

Proto-Indo-European *-h₂

Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂

Proto-Indo-European *-yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti

Proto-Italic *-āō

Latin -ō

Latin apiō

Proto-Indo-European *-tós

Proto-Italic *-tos

Latin -tus

▲

Latin -ō

Latin -tō

Latin aptō

Latin adaptōder.

Middle English *adapten

English adapt

Proto-Indo-European *-tḗr

Proto-Indo-European *-dʰlom

Proto-Indo-European *-dʰlis

Proto-Italic *-ðlis

Latin -bilis

Latin -ābilis

Old French -ablebor.

Middle English -able

English -able

English adaptable

From adapt + -able.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /əˈdæptəbəl/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Adjective

adaptable (comparative more adaptable, superlative most adaptable)

1. Capable of being adapted.

   Antonym: unadaptable

   an adaptable electric plug for international use

2. Willing or able to adapt to circumstances; flexible.

   Antonyms: unadaptable, inadaptable

   • 1914, Ernest Bramah, Max Carrados:

     She had had to turn out of her own room to accommodate him, but if one kept an apartment-house one had to be adaptable; […]

   • 1901, Sabine Baring-Gould, The Frobishers:

     Joan was adaptable, and easily fell in with the prevalent tone. She played her small jokes on each, and this readily dissolved restraint, and put all on terms of easy friendship.

Synonyms

• adaptive

Derived terms

• adaptability
• adaptableness
• adaptably
• haloadaptable
• inadaptable
• maladaptable
• nonadaptable
• superadaptable
• unadaptable

Related terms

• adapt

Translations

capable of adapting or of being adapted

• Asturian: adautable
• Bulgarian: приспособим (bg) (prisposobim)
• Catalan: adaptable
• Czech: přizpůsobivý
• Dutch: aanpasbaar (nl)
• Esperanto: akomodiĝema
• Estonian: kohandatav
• Finnish: sopeutuva (fi), mukautuva (fi)
• French: adaptable (fr)
• Galician: adaptable (gl), adaptábel (gl)
• German: anpassungsfähig (de)
• Greek: ευπροσάρμοστος (el) (efprosármostos)
• Italian: adattabile (it)
• Korean: 적응(適用)할 수 있는 (jeogeunghal su inneun)
• Manx: so-lhoobagh
• Papiamentu: adaptabel
• Polish: giętki (pl), adaptowalny
• Portuguese: adaptável (pt)
• Romanian: adaptabil (ro)
• Russian: приспособля́емый (ru) (prisposobljájemyj), приспоса́бливаемый (ru) (prisposáblivajemyj), адапти́руемый (ru) (adaptírujemyj)
• Spanish: adaptable (es), amoldable (es), acomodadizo (es), acomodaticio (es)
• Swedish: anpassningsbar (sv)
• Turkish: uyumlu (tr)

References

• “adaptable”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Catalan

Etymology

From adaptar +‎ -able.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ə.ðəpˈtab.blə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [a.ðapˈta.ble]

Adjective

adaptable m or f (masculine and feminine plural adaptables)

1. adaptable (capable of adapting or being adapted)

   Antonym: inadaptable

Derived terms

• adaptabilitat

Further reading

• “adaptable”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007

French

Etymology

From adapter +‎ -able.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a.dap.tabl/

• Audio (France):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Lyon)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Somain)):

  (file)

Adjective

adaptable (plural adaptables)

1. adaptable (capable of adapting or being adapted)

   Antonym: inadaptable

Derived terms

• adaptabilité

Further reading

• “adaptable”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Galician

Alternative forms

• adaptábel

Etymology

From adaptar +‎ -able.

Adjective

adaptable m or f (plural adaptables)

1. adaptable (capable of adapting or being adapted)

   Antonyms: inadaptable, inadaptábel

Derived terms

• adabtabilidade

Further reading

• “adaptable”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2026

Scots

Etymology

adapt +‎ -able

Adjective

adaptable (comparative mair adaptable, superlative maist adaptable)

1. adaptable

References

• Eagle, Andy, ed. (2016) The Online Scots Dictionary, Scots Online.

Spanish

Etymology

From adaptar +‎ -able.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /adabˈtable/ [a.ð̞aβ̞ˈt̪a.β̞le]
• Rhymes: -able
• Syllabification: a‧dap‧ta‧ble

Adjective

adaptable m or f (masculine and feminine plural adaptables)

1. adaptable (capable of adapting or being adapted)

   Antonym: inadaptable

Derived terms

• adaptabilidad

Descendants

• → Tagalog: adaptable

Further reading

• “adaptable”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

Tagalog

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish adaptable.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ʔadapˈtable/ [ʔɐ.d̪ɐpˈt̪aː.blɛ]
• Rhymes: -able
• Syllabification: a‧dap‧ta‧ble

Adjective

adaptable (Baybayin spelling ᜀᜇᜉ᜔ᜆᜊ᜔ᜎᜒ)

1. adaptable (capable of adapting or of being adapted)

   Synonyms: naiaangkop, naibabagay, naiaakma, naiaayon, naiaayos

Related terms

• adaptado
• adaptador
• adaptasyon
• aptitud

Further reading

• “adaptable”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, 2018
• Cuadrado Muñiz, Adolfo (1972), Hispanismos en el tagalo: diccionario de vocablos de origen español vigentes en esta lengua filipina, Madrid: Oficina de Educación Iberoamericana, page 10