manageable

American  

[man-i-juh-buhl] / ˈmæn ɪ dʒə bəl /

adjective

1. that can be managed; tractable; governable; achievable.

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manageable British  

/ ˈmænɪdʒəbəl /

adjective

1. able to be managed or controlled

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Other Word Forms

• manageability noun
• manageableness noun
• manageably adverb
• unmanageability noun
• unmanageable adjective
• unmanageableness noun
• unmanageably adverb

Etymology

Origin of manageable

First recorded in 1590–1600; manage + -able

Explanation

If you can handle something, it's manageable. An overworked college student might decide to drop a horrible chemistry class to make the semester more manageable. Anything that you can accomplish can be described with the adjective manageable. It's also used in a slightly different way, to talk about something that can be controlled, like a tamed lion or a smooth and tidy head of hair. The earliest use of the root word "manage" related specifically to controlling a horse, influenced by the French word for "horsemanship," manège.

Example Sentences

Food companies can cut prices as long as inflation remains manageable.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 21, 2026

"We need more health visitors so that we can have manageable caseloads," she says.

From BBC • Apr. 19, 2026

If the Strait of Hormuz reopens and energy markets calm down, he said, the recent inflation spike should prove manageable and his focus would return to a labor market he views as increasingly fragile.

From Barron's • Apr. 17, 2026

“Declining birth rates inevitably mean declining enrollment. The size of the decline should be manageable — but only if schools adjust their plans now, rather than wait.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 16, 2026

Silently she slipped away to continue her chores in the fields and barnyard, among creatures far more manageable than three untamed Babushkawoos.

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood

Related Words

• convenient
• feasible
• workable