acceptable meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

acceptable

adj

/əkˈsɛp.tə.bəl/ · /ækˈsɛp.tə.bəl/

Etymology From Middle English acceptable, from Anglo-Norman and Middle French acceptable, from Late Latin acceptābilis (“worthy of acceptance”). Morphologically accept + -able.

Worthy, decent, sure of being accepted or received with at least moderate pleasure.

We need to find an acceptable present for Jeff.
I think if post commanders of the unchaplained posts could employ acceptable clergymen […] then the needs might be met.1883, United States. War Department, Annual Reports of the War Department, volume 1, page 128:

1 more example

A site that carried [sexually explicit] material, but that gated it off from children through credit cards or other mechanisms to verify the age of the user, would have an acceptable defense under the act.1999 February 1, Pamela Mendels, “Judge Delays Online Pornography Law”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 06 Oct 2022:

Barely worthy, less than excellent; passable.

The designs were acceptable, but they were nothing special either.

Derived terms: acceptableness, acceptably, inacceptably, nonacceptable
Related terms: acceptability

acceptable

noun

Etymology From Middle English acceptable, from Anglo-Norman and Middle French acceptable, from Late Latin acceptābilis (“worthy of acceptance”). Morphologically accept + -able.

Someone or something that is acceptable.

The whole range of the knowable is divided into two classes, the acceptable and the avoidable. The acceptables are: Śiva, Śakti, Vidyesa, Mantra, Mantreśvara and the Jivas.1922, Madhusūdan Kaul, “Introduction”, in Sri Mālinīvijayottara Tantram (Kashmir Series of Texts and Studies; XXXVII), Bombay: […] “Tatva-vivechaka” Press, page xvii:
The good old acceptables are called “character” actors. An actor of the versatile order is called, casually, even contemptuously, a “character” actor.c. 1929–1930, Harry Alan Potamkin, “A Diet of Stars”, in Lewis Jacobs, editor, The Compound Cinema: The Film Writings of Harry Alan Potamkin (Studies in Culture & Communication), New York, N.Y.; London: Teachers College Press, published 1977, →ISBN, part 3 (Miscellany), section 9 (Other Writings), page 565:

2 more examples

Close to 3 percent of the acceptables are free of DMF teeth while none of the rejectables have fewer than 7 DMF teeth.1941 July 4, Henry Klein, “The Dental Status and Dental Needs of Young Adult Males, Rejectable or Acceptable for Military Service, According to Selective Service Dental Requirements”, in Public Health Reports, volume 56, number 27, Washington, D.C.: United States Public Health Service, pages 1373–1374:
The church will not be content to see that older persons are housed and entertained, or even that acceptables are worked out to provide them with therapy and income from jobs.1974 June 19, Ray Wells, “The Church and the Aging”, in The Free Will Baptist, Ayden, N.C., page 5, column 3: