passable

adjective

pass·​able ˈpa-sə-bəl 

1

a

: capable of being passed, crossed, or traveled on

passable roads

b

: capable of being freely circulated

2

: good enough : adequate

passably

ˈpa-sə-blē 

adverb

Synonyms

• navigable

Examples of passable in a Sentence

The main road is passable but most others are still covered with snow.

The river is passable during the summer months.

He did a passable job with the assignment.

She plays passable golf but prefers tennis.

Recent Examples on the Web

There are passable jump scares, plus some quease-inducing locations, effectively exploited by production designer Christopher Hare and cinematographer Andrew Scott Baird. —Dennis Harvey, Variety, 13 Oct. 2025

Spurgeon and Brodin were passable by Offensive Rating in their heyday but have fallen to below average. —The Athletic Nhl, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025

Then, after two glorious weeks of passable good health, my body started to ache. —Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2025

The Katana also features Wi-Fi 6E and a merely passable 720p webcam. —Matthew Buzzi, PC Magazine, 18 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for passable

• impassable
• impassible
• irascible
• unsurpassable

Kids Definition

passable

adjective

pass·​able ˈpas-ə-bəl 

1

: capable of being passed, crossed, or traveled on

passable roads

2

: barely good enough : tolerable

a passable imitation

passably

-blē 

adverb