comparable

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   Able to be compared (to).

   An elephant is comparable in size to a double-decker bus.

2. 2
   adj

   Similar (to); like.

   Furthermore, this increase in risk is comparable to the risk of death from leukemia after long-term exposure to benzene, another solvent, which has the well-known property of causing this type of cancer.

3. 3
   adj

   Constituting a pair in a particular partial order.

   Six and forty-two are comparable in the divides order, but six and nine are not.

4. 4
   adj

   Having comparative and superlative forms.

   "Big" is a comparable adjective because it can take the forms "bigger" and "biggest"; "unique" and "amazing", in contrast, are not comparable adjectives.

5. 5
   noun

   Something suitable for comparison.

   And the appraiser said he couldn't come up with comparables, because there hadn't been any sales nearby in several months.

6. 6
   adj

   able to be compared or worthy of comparison

7. 7
   adj

   conforming in every respect

Etymology

From Middle English comparable, from Middle French comparable, from Latin comparābilis. By surface analysis, compare + -able.