curable
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- curability noun
- curableness noun
- curably adverb
- uncurable adjective
- uncurableness noun
- uncurably adverb
Etymology
Origin of curable
1350–1400; Middle English (< Middle French ) < Latin cūrābilis, equivalent to cūrā ( re ) to care for (derivative of cūra care) + -bilis -ble
Explanation
Something curable can be fixed or healed. A curable illness or disorder can be treated and recovered from. A bad infection can be scary, but it's most often curable with antibiotics. There are even types of cancer that, while serious, can be treated and are therefore considered curable. Another meaning of curable is "able to be hardened, or cured." You might apply several coats of a curable coating after sanding and staining your dining room table. The Latin root is cura, "care or concern," and also "means of healing."
Vocabulary lists containing curable
Power Suffix: -able
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-able
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
When we got the diagnosis of Stage 2 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a curable form of blood cancer, my first words in response were, “I am thrilled.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 13, 2026
A new scientific breakthrough in the field of Alzheimer’s research is raising hopes that the cruel, crippling and fatal brain disease may eventually become curable.
From MarketWatch • Dec. 29, 2025
More than half the cancers were detected at an early stage, where they are easier to treat and potentially curable.
From BBC • Oct. 17, 2025
“One of the things we talk about is cancer within a team and how there are times when cancer can really affect a lot of things and it’s not curable and it spreads,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 27, 2025
"Free from curable sickness. "And working a job—" "Or working the fields close to home, so families can live together.”
From "Taste of Salt: A Story of Modern Haiti" by Frances Temple
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
