as in adequate
of a level of quality that meets one's needs or standards
told the bike rental man that a ten-speed with four broken gears was not acceptable
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of acceptable
Monday, April 27 Health inspectors gave a yellow placard to the Madison Woods grill after an employee did not demonstrate acceptable food safety knowledge on proper cooling and ware washing procedures.
—
Veronica Fernandez-Alvarado
may 1, Sacbee.com, 1 May 2026
So, a few tears of joy were absolutely acceptable.
—Jess Myers, Twin Cities, 1 May 2026
Progressives have managed to create a world in which an alarming and growing number of people have concluded that violence against political opponents is an acceptable form of protest.
—Chris Roemer, Baltimore Sun, 30 Apr. 2026
To be clear, there is no acceptable number of child fatalities or child maltreatment cases.
—Chicago Tribune, 29 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for acceptable
Veronica Fernandez-Alvarado
may 1, Sacbee.com, 1 May 2026
So, a few tears of joy were absolutely acceptable.
—Jess Myers, Twin Cities, 1 May 2026
Progressives have managed to create a world in which an alarming and growing number of people have concluded that violence against political opponents is an acceptable form of protest.
—Chris Roemer, Baltimore Sun, 30 Apr. 2026
To be clear, there is no acceptable number of child fatalities or child maltreatment cases.
—Chicago Tribune, 29 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for acceptable
Recent Examples of Synonyms for acceptable
Adjective
-
Access to the polls has never been adequate across the board, but the relative ease that many people have in participating in politics is a recent invention, based on the VRA.—
Vann R. Newkirk II,
The Atlantic,
2 May 2026
-
About an eighth of a cup should be adequate.—
Tom MacCubbin,
The Orlando Sentinel,
2 May 2026
Adjective
-
The call wasn’t satisfactory for Perez.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
3 May 2026
-
The defense was more than satisfactory in subduing the league’s top offense.—
Jace Frederick,
Twin Cities,
19 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Mother's Day Weekend, overall, is looking decent.—
Cutter Martin,
CBS News,
6 May 2026
-
The Leafs still have two top-line stars in Auston Matthews and William Nylander, both taken high in the draft 10 and 12 years ago, and two emerging young talents in Matthew Knies and Easton Cowan, giving the makings of a decent top-six forward group already.—
James Mirtle,
New York Times,
6 May 2026
Adjective
-
The fine points of class-action law were, of course, less influential than Crenshaw’s insistence on paying close attention to the way Black women were treated by the courts, and the essay’s most memorable lines were broader categorical claims.—
Kelefa Sanneh,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
-
Great White’s trainer, John Ennis, confirmed to The Associated Press that the big gray gelding and jockey Alex Achard were fine.—
Stephen Whyno,
The Orlando Sentinel,
3 May 2026
Adjective
-
While the new stadium deal has generated a lot of good press in the days since it was announced, both Swanston and Singh acknowledge that things are extremely early in the process.—
P.R. Lockhart,
Hartford Courant,
9 May 2026
-
Illinois Wesleyan recruit Conor McCabe went 2-for-4 and delivered a three-run double in the fifth inning to put the Knights (13-11, 6-5) ahead for good.—
Steve Millar,
Chicago Tribune,
9 May 2026
Adjective
-
Those victims, police said, faced non-life-threatening injuries and are expected to be okay.—
Matthew Ablon,
CBS News,
6 May 2026
-
When the fans started really going after Amanda, Kathy reached out to see if Amanda was okay.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
4 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Acceptable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/acceptable. Accessed 9 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
