applicability

applicability — noun

1. the quality of being relevant or able to be used in a specific situation, proble

1.nounC2
Definition

the quality of being relevant or able to be used in a specific situation, problem, or case

Example

The judge questioned the applicability of the old rule to online sales.

pattern: applicability of [rule] to [case]

The plan's applicability is limited in small village schools with one teacher.

collocation: limited applicability

Common collocations
  • practical applicability
  • wide applicability
  • limited applicability
  • applicability of a rule to a case
  • direct applicability
Synonyms
  • relevance

    focuses more on whether something matters to the topic, not whether it can be used

  • suitability

    often stresses being a good choice, not specifically applying to a case

  • usefulness

    is broader and less formal than applicability

  • pertinence

    is a formal word mainly for direct relation to the matter being discussed

Antonyms
  • inapplicability

    means that something does not fit or cannot be used in that case

  • irrelevance

    focuses on not being connected to the matter at hand

Grammar Patterns

the applicability of something to something

wide applicability

limited applicability

Usage Note

Common in formal, academic, and legal writing. It often appears in the pattern applicability of X to Y when you are asking whether a rule, idea, or method fits a particular case.

Common Mistakes

We discussed the application of the old rule to online sales.
We discussed the applicability of the old rule to online sales.
application is the act of using something; applicability asks whether it fits the case.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Applicability is the most precise word when you want to ask whether a rule, method, or idea can properly be used in a certain case. Relevance is broader: it asks whether something connects to the topic, even if it is not a tool or rule. Suitability often means something is a good choice for a purpose, while usefulness simply means it helps. Because of this, applicability is especially common in formal, academic, and legal writing. You might discuss the applicability of an old law to online sales, but the usefulness of a study guide for exam practice. If a comment does not connect to the topic, relevance is the better word.

applicability ↗relevance ↗suitability ↗usefulness

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • the applicability of something to something
  • wide applicability
  • limited applicability

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Applicability was formed in English from applicable and the noun ending -ity. Applicable comes from forms related to Latin applicare, which meant to bring or put something toward something else. Over time, English developed applicability to name whether a rule, method, or idea fits a particular case and can be used there.