Answerable describes something that is capable of being answered or justified with an answer or explanation. It implies solvability in a question or issue, often in a formal or evaluative context. The term is commonly used in assessments, debates, and legal or scholarly writing to indicate that a topic invites a response or can be addressed with evidence or reasoning.
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"The committee concluded that the issue was answerable within the scope of the existing regulations."
"Her thesis presented a compelling hypothesis and was clearly answerable by the data collected."
"In court, the lawyer asked questions that would render the case answerable with concrete answers."
"The teacher reassigned the assignment because the prompt was not answerable with a short response."
answerable is formed from the noun answer + the suffix -able, signaling capability or suitability. The root word answer derives from Old English andare, which itself traces to Proto-Germanic *andwerjanan, connected with the verb to answer and to imply a response or statement in reply. The suffix -able entered English through Old French -able, from Latin -abilis, indicating ability or capacity. Over time, answer evolved from a term for a response or statement to a characteristic of something that can be answered, i.e., that is capable of yielding an answer or being justified. The modern sense emphasizes a question’s feasibility of an answer, rather than merely eliciting a response. First attested usages in English show a shift in the 16th–17th centuries as legal, academic, and rhetorical discourse formalized terms like “answerable to” and “answerable for” to describe accountability and solvability. The progression reflects broader English tendencies to create adjectives from nouns using -able to denote capability. In contemporary usage, “answerable” often contrasts with “unanswerable” to mark whether a question can be resolved with evidence, logic, or authority, and is frequently encountered in exams, debates, and policy discussions.
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Words that rhyme with "answerable"
-ble sounds
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Pronounce it as AN-swer-a-ble, with the primary stress on the first syllable. IPA: US /ˈænsərəbəl/, UK /ˈɑːnsərəb(ə)l/, AU /ˈænsərəbl/. Start with the open front vowel /æ/ as in cat, move to /n/ + /sɜr/ (the “swer” part sounds like “sər” with a rhotic American /ɹ/ in US). The final -ble is a light /bəl/ or /bəl̩/ depending on speed. Tip: keep the mouth slightly open for /æ/, then tuck the tongue for /ɹ/ without over-rolling the tongue. Audio references: you can compare with native speaker pronunciations on Forvo or YouGlish for context.
Two frequent errors: 1) Dropping the /r/ or misplacing it in US/UK overlap, leading to /ˈænsəˌeɪbl/ or /ˈɑːnsəˌeɪbl/. 2) Over-reducing the final -ble to /bl/ or /əl/ instead of a clear /əbəl/; this makes it sound clipped. Correction: maintain /-ər-ə-bəl/ with a distinct /ə/ before the final /bəl/. Practice by isolating the syllables: ANS-wer-uh-bl, emphasizing the middle schwa and the final syllabic /l/ if needed. Listening to native speakers on YouGlish helps anchor the neutral American /ɚ/ in the middle syllable.
In US English, you hear /ˈænsərəbəl/ with a rhotic /ɹ/ and clear /æ/ in the first syllable. UK speakers often use /ˈɑːnsərəb(ə)l/ with a longer /ɑː/ and less rhoticity in some varieties, while AU tends toward /ˈænsərəbl/ with a slightly flatter /ə/ in the middle. The main differences: vowel quality in /æ/ vs /ɑː/, rhoticity presence, and final schwa reduction. Focus on keeping three syllables, stress on the first, and a continuous, gentle /ər/ sequence in the middle across accents.
Because it combines a stressed initial syllable with an unstressed middle and a final cluster that can compress in casual speech. The /ər/ in the middle can shift toward a schwa or reduced rhotic, and the final /əbəl/ often reduces in fast speech to /əb(ə)l/. Additionally, the /æ/ vs /ɑː/ distinction at the first vowel varies by accent, causing confusion if you’re not tuned to your own accent’s vowel space. Practice slow, precise articulation to stabilize the sequence.
Is the second syllable pronounced as /ˈswer/ or /ˈsɜːr/? The answer is that most speakers render it as /ˈsɜr/ (in US /ˈænsər/ gives /ˈsər/), but the key is keeping the 's' + 'w' interaction smooth: /s w ɜ r/ with the rhotic sound; in non-rhotic accents like some UK varieties, it can be a harder /sə/ without a full rhotic /r/. Focus on the cluster /sɜr/ and avoid adding extra vowel between /s/ and /w/.
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