practicable

practicable — adjective

1. If a plan, method, or course of action is practicable, real-world conditions — m

1.adjectiveC1
Definition

If a plan, method, or course of action is practicable, real-world conditions — money, time, equipment, weather — actually allow you to carry it out, rather than just letting you imagine it on paper.

Example

The bridge design proved practicable in monsoon conditions after engineers tested it in Mumbai.

predicative use: prove practicable in [conditions]

Mayor Chen asked whether finishing the new library by December was still practicable.

common in deadline assessments

Common collocations
  • prove practicable
  • deem practicable
  • as soon as practicable
  • where practicable
  • wherever practicable
  • no longer practicable
Synonyms
  • feasible

    near-synonym; slightly more common and less formal

  • viable

    stresses ability to succeed and survive long-term, not just be carried out

  • workable

    more informal; suggests a plan that functions well enough in practice

  • achievable

    focuses on reaching a goal rather than the method being doable

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

it is practicable to + infinitive

as soon as practicable

Usage Note

Distinguish from 'practical': practicable describes whether something can physically be carried out given real conditions, while practical describes whether something is sensible or useful in everyday life. A plan can be practicable (doable) but not practical (worth doing), and vice versa. Common in formal, legal, and engineering writing — especially in the fixed phrase 'as soon as practicable'.

Common Mistakes

These shoes are very practicable for hiking.
These shoes are very practical for hiking.
'practicable' is not used for everyday usefulness; use 'practical' for objects that work well in real life.
He is a practicable person who fixes things himself.
He is a practical person who fixes things himself.
'practicable' does not describe people; it describes plans, methods, or actions.

Word family

  • practicably
    adverbC2
  • practicability
    nounC2
  • impracticable
    adjectiveC1
  • practical
    adjectiveB1
  • practice
    nounA2

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All four describe plans or methods that can actually be carried out, but they emphasise different things. 'Practicable' is the most formal, common in legal, engineering, and policy writing; it stresses that real-world conditions (cost, time, equipment, weather) permit the action. 'Feasible' is the everyday near-synonym — slightly less formal and used widely in business and journalism. 'Viable' adds the idea of long-term survival or success, so a viable business can keep running, not just be launched. 'Workable' is the most informal, suggesting a plan that functions well enough in practice, often after compromise. Compare: 'The rescue is practicable before sunset' (physically possible), 'The startup is viable for five years' (likely to last), 'It's a workable compromise' (good enough).

practicable ↗feasible ↗viable ↗workable ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • a practicable plan
  • a practicable solution
  • a practicable method
  • a practicable route
  • a practicable proposal

Adverbs

  • barely practicable
  • scarcely practicable
  • no longer practicable

Phrases

  • as soon as practicable
  • where practicable
  • wherever practicable
  • so far as is practicable

Prepositions

  • practicable for [task]
  • practicable in [conditions]

Etymology

GreekLate LatinMedieval LatinFrenchEnglish

Borrowed in the early 1600s from French 'praticable', meaning 'able to be put into practice', which itself comes from 'pratiquer' (to practice or carry out). The French verb traces back to Medieval Latin 'practicare', from Late Latin 'practicus' (practical), ultimately from Greek 'praktikos' (concerned with action), from 'prassein' (to do). The narrower modern sense — 'doable under current conditions' — became fixed in English legal and engineering writing in the 1800s, which is why the word still feels formal today.