printable

printable — adjective

1. describes spoken words or remarks that are too rude or shocking for any newspape

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

describes spoken words or remarks that are too rude or shocking for any newspaper or magazine to print — almost always used in the negative form 'not printable'.

Example

The politician's remarks were so crude that they were not printable in any major newspaper.

negative construction: be not printable

When the referee made that call, the fans shouted things that were definitely not printable.

Common collocations
  • not printable
  • hardly printable
  • barely printable
  • not printable in a newspaper
Synonyms
  • unprintable

    stronger and exclusively negative; implies the content is so offensive it cannot be printed under any circumstances

  • obscene

    narrower in scope, focusing on sexual offensiveness specifically

  • unfit to publish

    a more formal and explicit alternative to 'not printable'

Antonyms
  • printable

    the positive form, used in the literal sense of 'suitable for publication' but very rare

  • decent

    describes language fit for public consumption, opposite of offensive

Grammar Patterns

be not printable

Usage Note

In this sense, the affirmative form 'printable' is extremely rare and may sound unnatural to native speakers. Always use 'not printable' or 'hardly printable' to express that something is too offensive to publish.

Common Mistakes

His joke was printable.
His joke was not printable.
This sense almost always requires a negative form to mean 'too offensive to publish'; using the positive form without context sounds odd.

2. describes a file, document, page, or format that a user can send to a printer fr

2.adjectiveB1
Definition

describes a file, document, page, or format that a user can send to a printer from a computer, website, email, or other digital source.

Example

This website offers a printable version of every recipe, so you can take it into the kitchen.

attributive: printable version

The email attachment is a printable PDF that includes all the travel documents for the trip.

Common collocations
  • printable version
  • printable document
  • printable format
  • printable PDF
  • printable copy
Synonyms
  • hard-copy ready

    informal, less common; implies the document is formatted for paper output

  • printer-friendly

    specifically describes a web page or document formatted to print well on paper

Antonyms
  • unprintable

    in the computing sense, describes a file that cannot be printed due to corruption or format issues

  • digital-only

    describes content intended only for on-screen viewing with no print option

Grammar Patterns

printable + noun

be printable

Usage Note

Commonly used attributively before a noun (e.g. 'printable version', 'printable document'). Also frequent in computing and web contexts, especially with PDF and other standard formats.

printable — noun

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

'Unprintable' is the most direct synonym of 'not printable' in this sense and carries the same negative force, though it is never used in the affirmative. 'Obscene' is narrower — it focuses on sexual offensiveness specifically, whereas 'not printable' covers any kind of rudeness or shock value (violence, profanity, crude humour). 'Unfit to publish' is a more formal and explicit phrase that editors and journalists use when reviewing potentially controversial material. 'Censored' is different: it describes material that has been deliberately removed or suppressed by an authority, regardless of whether it was actually offensive. For example, a politician's rant might be 'not printable' because of its crude language, while a letter to the editor might be 'censored' because it criticised the government — two very different reasons for being kept out of print.

unprintableobsceneunfit to publishcensored

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • printable at home
  • ready to print
  • printable on demand

Prepositions

  • from (a website)
  • as (a PDF)
  • on (a printer)

Etymology

Old FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

The word 'printable' is formed from the verb 'print' (which comes from Old French 'preinte', meaning 'pressed' or 'impressed into a surface') combined with the suffix '-able' (meaning 'capable of being' or 'suitable for'). The literal sense of 'able to be printed on paper' dates back to the 1600s. The figurative sense of 'suitable for publication — not too offensive' emerged in the mid-1800s as newspapers and periodicals became widespread and editors needed a way to describe language that was fit for a general readership. The modern computing sense — describing a file that can be sent to a printer — took hold in the 1980s with the rise of personal computers and desktop publishing.