nameable

adjective

name·​able ˈnā-mə-bəl How to pronounce nameable (audio)
variants or less commonly namable
1
: worthy of being named : memorable
2
: capable of being named : identifiable

Examples of nameable in a Sentence

not one nameable accomplishment in all of her years in the senate
Recent Examples on the Web Again, the theatrical elements — especially the text — come together as pieces that sit side by side to become a greater whole that is less nameable than felt. Gia Kourlas, New York Times, 11 Jan. 2023 In distributing blame so widely yet specifically, Sorkin and Zukin strongly suggested that nameable individuals had made identifiable mistakes, ceding vision in the name of short-term goals. Justin Davidson, Curbed, 31 Aug. 2021 Raphael’s portrait of Baldassare Castiglione exists at one specific point on the planet, and nowhere else, having begun in one nameable place and followed a track through time, owner by owner and wall to wall. Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2020 What helps people survive is specific hope for a nameable and better future. Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 25 May 2020 Klein seems to suggest, accurately, that the core alliance of the modern G.O.P.—economic élites and poor whites—is the strategic creation of nameable individuals. Stephen Metcalf, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2020 Thirteen nanometers is far, far, far beneath nameable perception. Virginia Heffernan, Wired, 21 Jan. 2020 With every interesting flavor, there usually turn out to be three specific, nameable elements that create the mystery, and all the rest of that. Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 14 May 2018 Until last year, Sterling K. Brown and Brian Tyree Henry had carved out parallel careers as recognizable but not particularly nameable actors. Jeremy Egner, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2017

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

Word History

First Known Use

1780, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of nameable was in 1780

Dictionary Entries Near nameable

Cite this Entry

“Nameable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nameable. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.

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