Synonyms of suitable

suitable

adjective

ˈsü-tə-bəl 

1

as in qualified

having the required skills for an acceptable level of performance

with only one suitable candidate it's not difficult to decide for whom to vote

Synonyms & Similar Words

• qualified
• good
• capable
• competent
• fit
• able
• equal
• expert
• ready
• prepared
• experienced
• skilled
• skillful
• proficient
• adept
• on the ball
• willing
• accomplished
• practised
• versatile
• seasoned
• masterly
• master
• practiced
• apt
• veteran
• masterful
• ace
• trained
• all-round
• overqualified
• protean
• schooled
• all-around

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• poor
• unfit
• incompetent
• unqualified
• inept
• inexperienced
• unskilled
• unfitted
• new
• unprepared
• green
• beginning
• untrained
• raw
• inexpert
• unseasoned
• untested
• untried
• unskillful
• unschooled

2

as in appropriate

meeting the requirements of a purpose or situation

I don't have anything suitable to wear to a bar mitzvah

Synonyms & Similar Words

• appropriate
• fitting
• proper
• fitted
• fit
• good
• applicable
• happy
• adequate
• acceptable
• meet
• right
• pretty
• apt
• in order
• needed
• becoming
• felicitous
• balanced
• required
• befitting
• satisfactory
• capable
• deserved
• able
• decent
• justified
• requisite
• competent
• qualified
• correct
• decorous
• serviceable
• just
• trained
• respectable
• tolerable
• rightful
• condign
• kosher
• harmonious
• cut out
• consonant
• seemly
• pitch-perfect
• congruous
• companionate

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• unsuitable
• improper
• inappropriate
• wrong
• unfit
• inapplicable
• unhappy
• incongruous
• incapable
• unfitting
• indecent
• unseemly
• inadequate
• unbecoming
• incompetent
• inapt
• unsatisfactory
• unskilled
• unacceptable
• unqualified
• inapposite
• untrained
• infelicitous
• intolerable
• unapt
• inept
• unmeet
• inexpert
• unskillful
• unbeseeming
• incorrect
• incompatible
• misbecoming
• malapropos
• indecorous
• uncongenial
• graceless

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective suitable differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of suitable are appropriate, apt, felicitous, fitting, fit, happy, meet, and proper. While all these words mean "right with respect to some end, need, use, or circumstance," suitable implies an answering to requirements or demands.

clothes suitable for camping

In what contexts can appropriate take the place of suitable?

The meanings of appropriate and suitable largely overlap; however, appropriate implies eminent or distinctive fitness.

an appropriate gift

Where would apt be a reasonable alternative to suitable?

The synonyms apt and suitable are sometimes interchangeable, but apt connotes a fitness marked by nicety and discrimination.

apt quotations

When could felicitous be used to replace suitable?

In some situations, the words felicitous and suitable are roughly equivalent. However, felicitous suggests an aptness that is opportune, telling, or graceful.

a felicitous phrase

When is fit a more appropriate choice than suitable?

While in some cases nearly identical to suitable, fit stresses adaptability and sometimes special readiness for use or action.

fit for battle

When would fitting be a good substitute for suitable?

While the synonyms fitting and suitable are close in meaning, fitting implies harmony of mood or tone.

a fitting end

When might happy be a better fit than suitable?

The words happy and suitable are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, happy suggests what is effectively or successfully appropriate.

a happy choice of words

When is it sensible to use meet instead of suitable?

The words meet and suitable can be used in similar contexts, but meet suggests a just proportioning.

meet payment

When can proper be used instead of suitable?

Although the words proper and suitable have much in common, proper suggests a suitability through essential nature or accordance with custom.

proper acknowledgement

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of suitable

It is now widely accepted that if a suitable offer comes in, the club will not stand in his way. —Gregg Evans, New York Times, 17 May 2025

McCarthy believed that only the print labeled E2 -- the area below the left big toe -- was suitable for comparison. —Jordan Kinsey, CBS News, 17 May 2025

At the hearings, a panel of commissioners could deem the brothers suitable for parole, but that would not be the end of the process. —Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 15 May 2025

But animals are not necessarily suitable proxies for humans, and more than 90 percent of drug trials fail between animal and human testing trials, according to a 2023 review by animal welfare advocates. —Rachel Fobar, Vox, 14 May 2025