desirable

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adjective de·sir·able \ di-ˈzī-rə-bəl \

Definition of desirable

1 :having pleasing qualities or properties :attractive

"Mr. Darcy, you must allow me to present this young lady to you as a very desirable partner."
—Jane Austen

a house in a highly desirable location

2 :worth seeking or doing as advantageous, beneficial, or wise :advisable

desirable legislation

—

desirableness

noun

—

desirably

play \-blē\ adverb

See desirable defined for English-language learners

See desirable defined for kids

Examples of desirable in a Sentence

The house is in a highly desirable location.
The new stove has many desirable features.
the qualities that make a desirable business partner
The experiment did not achieve a desirable result.
a beautiful and desirable woman

Recent Examples of desirable from the Web

Whether is race, ability, size or anything else, the societal ideal of who is and who is not desirable is pretty slim — literally.

— brittney mcnamara, Teen Vogue, "Tess Holliday Instagrams That Fat People Have Sex Too," 29 Aug. 2017
To be sure, an unusually desirable city can get away with loud left-wing attitudes and still be a great business destination, as San Francisco has shown.

— jon talton, The Seattle Times, "Vote: What economic issues should Seattle mayoral candidates be addressing?," 28 July 2017
The thinking seems to be that someone younger would be most desirable (what’s new?), so that the actor could stick with the franchise for years and years and years.

— richard lawson, vanityfair.com, "How Young Should Batman Be?," 21 July 2017
The thinking seems to be that someone younger would be most desirable (what’s new?), so that the actor could stick with the franchise for years and years and years.

— richard lawson, HWD, "How Young Should Batman Be?," 21 July 2017
Jefferson County Master Gardener June Sandercock will describe pollinator behavior, desirable plants and other garden elements to welcome and nurture pollinators, 9 a.m. July 29.

— The Courier-Journal, "Home and garden events July 22 and beyond," 19 July 2017
When a company is desirable, perhaps due to its products, technology, patents, cash generation or growth prospects, a buyer might be in a bidding war.

— seattle times staff, The Seattle Times, "The Motley Fool: Useful tips on investing," 15 July 2017
Supporters of the legislation say restrictions and bureaucracy have made becoming a therapist less desirable.

— mary jordan, Washington Post, "The unexpected political power of dentists," 1 July 2017
The employees alleged they were denied promotions and transfers, given less desirable work assignments, harassed and wrongly fired in some cases because of their race.

— hal dardick, chicagotribune.com, "Lawsuit alleges racism at roiled Chicago water department," 29 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'desirable.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of desirable

see ¹desire

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

desirable Synonyms

Synonyms

bodacious, sexy, dishy, hot, luscious, toothsome

Antonyms

impolitic, imprudent, inadvisable, inexpedient, injudicious, unwise

Related Words

foxy, nubile; hunky, studly [slang]; alluring, seductive, sultry, vampish, vampy

Near Antonyms

impractical, profitless, unfeasible, unprofitable; inopportune, unseasonable, untimely

desirable

noun

Definition of desirable

:a person or thing that merits or attracts favorable attention and consideration :one that is desirable

Recent Examples of desirable from the Web

The undesirables are migrants or refugees, the desirables are expats or cosmopolitans.

— ben huberman, Longreads, "An Expat by Any Other Name (Is Sometimes a Digital Nomad)," 21 July 2017

Origin and Etymology of desirable

see ¹desire

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1645

See Words from the same year

DESIRABLE Defined for English Language Learners

desirable

play

adjective

Definition of desirable for English Language Learners

: having good or pleasing qualities : worth having or getting
: sexually attractive

DESIRABLE Defined for Kids

desirable

play

adjective de·sir·able \ di-ˈzī-rə-bəl \

Definition of desirable for Students

1 :having pleasing qualities :attractive

a desirable location

2 :worth having or seeking

“… a good heart is, I believe, much more desirable than education or brains.”
—L. Frank Baum, The Marvelous Land of Oz

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desirable

Definition of desirable

desirableness

desirably

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Examples of desirable in a Sentence

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Origin and Etymology of desirable

desirable Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Related Words

Near Antonyms

desirable

Definition of desirable

Recent Examples of desirable from the Web

Origin and Etymology of desirable

DESIRABLE Defined for English Language Learners

desirable

Definition of desirable for English Language Learners

DESIRABLE Defined for Kids

desirable

Definition of desirable for Students

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