avoidable

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /əˈvɔɪdəbəl/ UK /əˈvɔɪdəbəl/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
able to be prevented or kept away from

Most of these accidents are entirely avoidable with basic care.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · able to be prevented or... preventableescapableevadableavertableneedless

Opposites

unavoidable inevitable inescapable necessary obligatory

Word family

Derived forms avoidablyavoidability

Related forms avoid avoidance

Etymology

From avoid + -able. Avoid derives from Anglo-French avoider, from Old French esvuidier ('to empty out'), from es- (Latin ex-, 'out') + vuidier ('to empty'), from Latin vocivus/vacivus ('empty').

vacivus Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# avoidable

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /əˈvɔɪdəbəl/
**IPA (UK):** /əˈvɔɪdəbəl/

## Meanings
1. able to be prevented or kept away from

## Examples
- Most of these accidents are entirely avoidable with basic care.

## Synonyms
- preventable
- escapable
- evadable
- avertable
- needless

## Antonyms
- unavoidable
- inevitable
- inescapable
- necessary
- obligatory

## Derived Forms
- avoidably
- avoidability

## Related Forms
- avoid
- avoidance

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: vacivus

## Etymology
From avoid + -able. Avoid derives from Anglo-French avoider, from Old French esvuidier ('to empty out'), from es- (Latin ex-, 'out') + vuidier ('to empty'), from Latin vocivus/vacivus ('empty').

## AI Etymology
avoidable comes from avoid + -able. Avoid derives from Anglo-French avoider, from Old French esvuidier ('to empty out'), from es- (Latin ex-, 'out') + vuidier ('to empty'), from Latin vocivus/vacivus ('empty'). Morphologically, the word is transparent: -able is attached to the older base named in the history, so the modern form packages an inherited or borrowed stem inside a later English derivative. In modern use, the adjective sense is "able to be prevented or kept away from", which keeps the etymology connected to the word's present dictionary value rather than treating it as a merely historical label. The wider word family includes related English forms such as avoid, avoidance and derivatives such as avoidably, avoidability, showing how the same base continues to support neighboring English vocabulary. The principal historical forms in the chain include Latin vacivus, which anchor the explanation in named linguistic material.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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