predictable
Americanadjective
-
able to be foretold or declared in advance.
New technology allows predictable weather forecasting.
-
expected, especially on the basis of previous or known behavior.
His complaints are so predictable.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of predictable
First recorded in 1815–25; predict ( def. ) + -able ( def. )
Explanation
If you can predict it, I predict you'll call it predictable. In other words, anything that you can see or know before it happens is predictable. When she got out the fine china early in Act I, you could just tell the stuff would be smashed in Act III. It was all too predictable. Given the facts of their lives, the end of their relationship was predictable: he was married, and so was she, but not to each other. The roots of the word are fun to analyze: pre- means "before," dict means "to say," and able means, well, "able." Put them together, and you'll see that predictable means "able to be said before (it happens)" or, simply, something you know of before it happens.
Vocabulary lists containing predictable
-able
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The Egypt Game
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Words to Describe a Movie
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The White House announced late on Thursday that Vance would not be travelling to the talks and said the logistics had not been "simple or predictable".
From BBC • Jun. 19, 2026
Nobody likes new fees, but the city found that residents preferred a predictable charge to the “sidewalk roulette” of costs imposed whenever the city decides a repair is needed.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 18, 2026
Witching days don’t necessarily have a predictable effect on the stock market.
From Barron's • Jun. 18, 2026
CDs offer predictable returns for a fixed term, good for people with a low risk tolerance, while high-yield savings accounts provide more liquidity.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 18, 2026
Things were predictable for the next couple of weeks.
From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
