viable, workable

viable, workable
These words refer to the ease with which, or likelihood that, something can be done. Viable means "capable of living," "physically fitted to live," but by extension has come to mean "able or likely to produce continued success or effectiveness" and is often used in a comparative sense: "Your plan is more viable than the one we have been using." Workable is applied to plans, suggestions, or ideas that will be successful if properly managed: "The foreman presented us with a workable production schedule." Words closely related to these near-synonyms are feasible, practical, and possible.

Dictionary of problem words and expressions. . 1975.

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  • workable — See viable. See viable, workable …   Dictionary of problem words and expressions

  • viable — See viable, workable …   Dictionary of problem words and expressions

  • viable — [vī′ə bəl] adj. [Fr, likely to live < vie, life < L vita: see VITAL] 1. able to live; specif., a) having developed sufficiently within the uterus to be able to live and continue normal development outside the uterus [a premature but viable… …   English World dictionary

  • viable — I adjective acceptable, actable, alive, appropriate, apt, capable of development, capable of growth, conceivable, doable, effective, effectual, efficacious, encouraging, expedient, favorable, feasible, functional, imaginable, legitimate, likely,… …   Law dictionary

  • workable — index demonstrable, determinable (ascertainable), fit, functional, operative, possible, potential …   Law dictionary

  • workable — [adj] feasible applicable, breeze*, cinch*, doable, duck soup*, easy, easy as pie*, exploitable, functional, no sweat*, piece of cake*, possible, practicable, practical, simple as ABC*, snap, usable, useful, viable, working; concepts 538,552,560… …   New thesaurus

  • viable — is a 19c loanword from French, and was first used to describe a fetus or newborn child that was capable of maintaining life. Metaphorical uses developed in the 19c, but it was not until the 1940s that it became a vogue word applied to a whole… …   Modern English usage

  • viable — [adj] reasonable, practicable applicable, doable, feasible, operable, possible, usable, within possibility, workable; concepts 552,560 Ant. impossible, unachievable, unpractical, unreasonable …   New thesaurus

  • viable — I (New American Roget s College Thesaurus) adj. fertile, capable; possible, potential; alive, living, vi brant; workable, practical. See life, possibility. II (Roget s 3 Superthesaurus) (VOCABULARY WORD) a. [VI uh bul] able to live or survive,… …   English dictionary for students

  • viable — vi•a•ble [[t]ˈvaɪ ə bəl[/t]] adj. 1) capable of living 2) phl (of a fetus) sufficiently developed to be capable of living, under normal conditions, outside the uterus 3) bot cvb having the ability to grow or develop: a viable country; a viable… …   From formal English to slang

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