What does "solvable" mean?
Capable of being solved.
Solvable
/ˈsɒlvəbəl/ adj
adj ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Capable of being solved.
- Grammar: solvable is listed as adj.
- Nearest alternatives: resolvable, addressable, algebraically solvable, answerable.
- Useful contrasts: insolvable, challenging, gordian.
- Usage evidence: These problems are all solvable.
How to use "solvable"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "solvable" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "solvable" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "solvable" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "solvable" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "solvable" is acting as adj in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "resolvable" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
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Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "solvable", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Adjective
- 1 Capable of being solved.
"a solvable problem"
- 2 Capable of being solved.; various senses relating to terminating sequences or computability:; Having terminating derived series; see Solvable group on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- 3 Capable of being solved.; various senses relating to terminating sequences or computability:; Having a Galois group which is solvable.
- 4 Capable of being solved.; various senses relating to terminating sequences or computability:; Having terminating derived series (this is a distinct notion from the derived series of a group); see Solvable Lie algebra on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- 5 Capable of being solved.; Such that the set of inputs for which the answer is yes is recursively enumerable.
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 Capable of being dissolved or liquefied. obsolete
"1664, John Chandler (translator), Van Helmont’s Works, London: Lodowick Lloyd, A Treatise of Fevers, Chapter 8, p. 971, […] they administer Pearles, and Corrals being beaten to dust or dissolved in distilled vinegar, or the juice of limons, and again dryed, and solvable in any potable liquour:"
- 7 Able to pay one's debts. obsolete
"[…] although imprisonment was imposed by law on persons not solvable, yet officers were unwilling to cast them into goale,"
- 8 Capable of being paid and discharged. obsolete, rare
"solvable obligations"
Adjective
- 1 capable of being solved wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"These problems are all solvable."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "solvable"?
Common synonyms include: resolvable, addressable, algebraically solvable, answerable, computable, decidable.
How do you use "solvable" in a sentence?
These problems are all solvable.
How do you pronounce "solvable"?
Pronounced /ˈsɒlvəbəl/.
Etymology
From solve + -able. Piecewise doublet of soluble. More information The mathematical senses derive from Galois theory: Galois discovered that one could determine whether a given polynomial could be solved by radicals by studying the properties of a particular group attached to a particular field extension deriving from the polynomial in question; if the group satisfies some conditions then polynomial can be solved by radicals. Any group meeting these conditions — whether or not it arises from this process — is thus called solvable, as is any field extension giving rise to such a group. The Lie-theoretic sense is by analogy, the study of Lie algebras deriving much of its terminology from group theory. In regular use by the late 19th century.