Synonym Chooser

How is the word tractable different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of tractable are amenable, docile, and obedient. While all these words mean "submissive to the will of another," tractable suggests having a character that permits easy handling or managing.

tractable animals

When might amenable be a better fit than tractable?

While the synonyms amenable and tractable are close in meaning, amenable suggests a willingness to yield or cooperate because of a desire to be agreeable or because of a natural open-mindedness.

amenable to new ideas

Where would docile be a reasonable alternative to tractable?

While in some cases nearly identical to tractable, docile implies a predisposition to submit readily to control or guidance.

a docile child

When would obedient be a good substitute for tractable?

The words obedient and tractable are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, obedient implies compliance with the demands or requests of one in authority.

obedient to the government

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 tractable In the 12th century, for instance, the Dutch began to drain swamps to create tractable land for agriculture. Eli Wizevich, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 Jan. 2025 None of these visions, however, proved tractable: Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran misjudged the strength of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Israeli society, and the U.S.-Israeli alliance. Amos Yadlin, Foreign Affairs, 17 Dec. 2024 Like James’s governess, Christine becomes an author of sorts through her attempts to understand a situation that isn’t, in the end, all that tractable. Joanna Biggs, Harper's Magazine, 2 Feb. 2024 Medical researchers have made these images tractable for CNNs by breaking them up into much smaller fragments—square tiles, for example. IEEE Spectrum, 23 Aug. 2021 See All Example Sentences for tractable
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tractable
obedient
Adjective
  • There’s a difference, school leaders said, between building the confidence of girls, whom society expects to be obedient and agreeable, and building the confidence of boys, who get different societal messages.
    Melanie Asmar, Denver Post, 5 Oct. 2025
  • The Tyrell Corporation, a powerful company that created the replicants and profits from sending them to work on distant colonies, sees them as nothing more than obedient workers.
    Claire A. Simmers, The Conversation, 25 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Tractable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tractable. Accessed 18 Oct. 2025.

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