comparable

English

Etymology

From Middle English comparable, from Middle French comparable, from Latin comparābilis.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈkɒmp(ə)ɹəbl̩/, /kəmˈpæɹəbl̩/

  • Audio (RP)

    (file)

  • Audio (RP)

    (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈkɑmp(ə)ɹəbl̩/, /kəmˈpæɹəbl̩/
• (US, Mary–marry–merry merger) IPA^(key): /kəmˈpɛɹəbl̩/

Adjective

comparable (comparative more comparable, superlative most comparable)

1. (often with to) Able to be compared (to).

   An elephant is comparable in size to a double-decker bus.

   You can't say that robbing a bank is like pickpocketing. The two are just not comparable.

   • 2022 January 12, Sir Michael Holden, “Reform of the workforce or death by a thousand cuts?”, in RAIL, number 948, page 22:

     As yet, we don't know what the comparable figures will be like for the current financial year which ends in March 2022, but we can have a good stab at approximating them.

2. (often with to) Similar (to); like.
   • 2013 July-August, Philip J. Bushnell, “Solvents, Ethanol, Car Crashes & Tolerance”, in American Scientist:

     Furthermore, this increase in risk is comparable to the risk of death from leukemia after long-term exposure to benzene, another solvent, which has the well-known property of causing this type of cancer.

3. (mathematics) Constituting a pair in a particular partial order.

   Six and forty-two are comparable in the divides order, but six and nine are not.

5. (grammar) Said of an adjective that has comparative and superlative forms.

   "Big" is a comparable adjective, since it can take the forms "bigger" and "biggest"; but "unique" is not comparable, except in disputed, but common, usage.

Usage notes

The pronunciation /ˈkɒmp(ə)ɹəbl̩/ is almost never used for sense 4.

Related terms

• comparability
• comparableness
• incomparable
• uncomparable
• non-comparable, noncomparable

Translations

able to be compared

• Asturian: comparable
• Bulgarian: сравним (bg) (sravnim)
• Catalan: comparable (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 比得上 (zh) (bǐdeshàng), 可比較的, 可比较的 (kě bǐjiào de)

• Czech: srovnatelný m
• Dutch: vergelijkbaar (nl)
• Esperanto: komparebla
• Finnish: verrattavissa oleva
• French: comparable (fr)
• Galician: comparable (gl), comparábel (gl)
• German: vergleichbar (de); (in grammar) steigerbar (de), komparabel (de), komparierbar, graduierbar
• Hungarian: összehasonlítható (hu), összemérhető
• Italian: comparabile (it)
• Japanese: 比較できる (ja) (ひかくできる, hikaku dekiru)

• Korean: 비슷하다 (ko) (biseuthada), 견줄 만하다 (gyeonjul manhada), 비교(比較)할 수 있다 (bigyohal su itda), 비교(比較)가 가능(可能)하다 (bigyo-ga ganeunghada)
• Macedonian: споредлив (sporedliv)
• Middle English: comparable
• Norwegian: sammenlignbar (no), komparabel (no)
• Old English: wiþmetendlīċ
• Polish: porównywalny (pl)
• Portuguese: comparável (pt)
• Romanian: comparabil (ro)
• Russian: сравни́мый (ru) (sravnímyj), сопостави́мый (ru) (sopostavímyj)
• Slovak: porovnateľný
• Spanish: comparable (es), equiparable
• Swedish: jämförbar (sv)
• Turkish: karşılaştırılabilir

similar — see similar

Noun

comparable (plural comparables)

1. Something suitable for comparison.
   • 2009, January 2, “Fred A. Bernstein”, in Catskill Home Prices: How Low Will They Go?‎^[1]:

     And the appraiser said he couldn't come up with comparables, because there hadn't been any sales nearby in several months.

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Asturian

Etymology

From Latin comparābilis.

Adjective

comparable (epicene, plural comparables)

1. comparable

Related terms

• comparar
• incomparable

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Catalan

Etymology

From Latin comparābilis.

Pronunciation

• (Balearic) IPA^(key): /kom.pəˈɾa.blə/
• (Central) IPA^(key): /kum.pəˈɾa.blə/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /kom.paˈɾa.ble/

Adjective

comparable (masculine and feminine plural comparables)

1. comparable

   Antonym: incomparable

Derived terms

• comparablement

Related terms

• comparar
• incomparable

Further reading

• “comparable” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

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French

Etymology

From Latin comparābilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɔ̃.pa.ʁabl/

• Audio (Paris)

  (file)

Adjective

comparable (plural comparables)

1. comparable (suitable to be compared)

Related terms

• comparabilité

Further reading

• “comparable”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

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Galician

Alternative forms

• comparábel

Etymology

From Latin comparābilis.

Adjective

comparable m or f (plural comparables)

1. comparable

Related terms

• comparar
• incomparábel / incomparable

Further reading

• “comparable” in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega, Royal Galician Academy.

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Middle English

Alternative forms

• comperable

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French comparable, from Latin comparābilis; equivalent to comparen +‎ -able.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌkɔmpaˈraːbəl/, /ˌkɔmpaˈraːblə/, /ˈkɔmpərabəl/

Adjective

comparable (Late Middle English)

1. Of identical or similar value; comparing favourably.
2. Comparable, commensurable; suitable for comparison.

Descendants

• English: comparable

References

• “comparāble, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

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Spanish

Etymology

From Latin comparābilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kompaˈɾable/, [kõm.paˈɾa.β̞le]

Adjective

comparable (plural comparables)

1. comparable

   Antonym: incomparable

Derived terms

• comparablemente

Related terms

• comparar
• incomparable

Further reading

• “comparable”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014