comparable

adjective

com·​pa·​ra·​ble ˈkäm-p(ə-)rə-bəl How to pronounce comparable (audio)
 also  kəm-ˈpa-rə-bəl,
-ˈper-ə- How to pronounce comparable (audio)
1
: capable of or suitable for comparison
The situations are not at all comparable.
2
: similar, like
fabrics of comparable quality
The two houses are comparable in size.
comparableness noun

Examples of comparable in a Sentence

two comparable selections that are hard to choose between
Recent Examples on the Web Drinks range from $4 to $7, sliders start at $10 before adding bacon or avocado — prices comparable to the competition. Lina Abascal, Los Angeles Times, 11 Mar. 2024 Mone said the cost of operating the Waukesha campus on a per-student basis was comparable to the main campus. Kelly Meyerhofer, Journal Sentinel, 11 Mar. 2024 Lilly is also working on an experimental pill comparable to amycretin, one that has reported body weight losses of 14.7% in 36 weeks in trials. Byprarthana Prakash, Fortune Europe, 8 Mar. 2024 At $45,000, the new vehicle is more comparable to middle-of-the-road EVs, including the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and 6, the Ford Mustang Mach-E, and the Tesla Model 3. Aarian Marshall, WIRED, 7 Mar. 2024 This means that every 24 hours, the stone grows in length comparable to the thickness of two sheets of paper. Ana De Oliva, CNN, 6 Mar. 2024 The distressed boaters were traveling from Guadeloupe to France when they got stuck about 1,726 miles east of Bermuda, a distance that officials said was comparable to traveling about halfway across the continental United States. Stephen Sorace, Fox News, 5 Mar. 2024 Released in 2022, the fifth-gen Air was first in the line to use Apple’s M1 chipset, which gives it power comparable to the 2021 iPad Pro. Quentyn Kennemer, The Verge, 4 Mar. 2024 After all, our relationship to clothes unfolds in the context of a garment industry comparable in scale to agriculture and fossil fuels — an industry that, as such, requires economies of scale vast enough, and concentrations of demand broad enough, to ensure profitability. Jonah Weiner, New York Times, 3 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'comparable.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

see compare entry 1

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of comparable was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near comparable

Cite this Entry

“Comparable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/comparable. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

comparable

adjective
com·​pa·​ra·​ble ˈkäm-p(ə-)rə-bəl How to pronounce comparable (audio)
1
: capable of being compared
2
: similar, like
cloth comparable to the best
comparably adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on comparable

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