bearable

[ bair-uh-buhl ]

adjective

1. capable of being endured or tolerated; endurable.

bearable

/ ˈbɛərəbəl /

adjective

1. endurable; tolerable

Derived Forms

• ˈbearably, adverb

Other Words From

• beara·ble·ness noun
• beara·bly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of bearable¹

First recorded in 1540–50; bear ¹ + -able

Example Sentences

"But life was much more bearable with him."

From BBC

Now even the small joys that were making life bearable are fraught with fear after a new law was announced saying if a woman is outside her home, even her voice must not be heard.

From BBC

Fulton Mackay’s strict disciplinarian Mr Mackay and Brian Wilde’s gentle Mr Barrowclough show prison life at its extremes, while ‘Fletch’ devotes his time to getting one over on the oppressive system to make his five-year sentence more bearable.

From BBC

Though the discomfort of a DRE pales in comparison to what basically any woman endures in a garden-variety OB-GYN appointment, many men have long viewed the exam as a barely bearable indignity.

From Slate

A gay white man in his 60s said he needed money “for a bearable retirement not fraught with worry.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• livable
• manageable
• passable
• satisfactory
• tolerable