desirable en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- /dɪˈzaɪɹəbəl/ (Canada, General-American)
- [dɪˈzaɪɹəbəɫ] (Canada, General-American)
- (California) audio
- [dɪˈzaɪ(j)əɹəbəɫ] (Received-Pronunciation)
- [dɪˈzaɪɹəbɫ̩] (Canada, General-American)
- /dɪˈzaɪəɹəbəl/ (Received-Pronunciation)
Etymology
From Old French desirable. Morphologically desire + -able.
Meanings
-
Worthy to be desired; pleasing; agreeable.
It has long been recognised that complete segregation of control of the respective services provided by the two undertakings, and of the power supply, signalling, and tracks relating to each was desirable.
1956 July, “New Works on District Line, L.T.”, in Railway Magazine, page 485:With fresh material, taxonomic conclusions are leavened by recognition that the material examined reflects the site it occupied; a herbarium packet gives one only a small fraction of the data desirable for sound conclusions. Herbarium material does not, indeed, allow one to extrapolate safely: what you see is what you get[…]
1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, Chicago, Ill.: Field Museum of Natural History, →ISBN, page vii:This applicant has almost all desirable properties.
-
Sexually attractive.
The desirable Miss Moneypenny, M's all-powerful private secretary, gave him an encouraging smile and he walked through the double doors.
1954, Ian Fleming, “Interview with M”, in Live and Let Die, London: Pan Books, published 1957, page 13:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| more desirable | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| most desirable | Degree=Sup | lexicographic |
Antonyms
Deriveds
nondesirable · desirableness · desirability · ultradesirable · indesirable
Synonyms
Translations (58)
nb ønskelig (suitable to be desired) · cmn 令人滿意的 /令人满意的 (suitable to be desired) · ru жела́тельный (suitable to be desired) · sv åtråvärd (suitable to be desired) · th เป็นที่ต้องการ (suitable to be desired) · de erstrebsam (suitable to be desired) · es deseable (suitable to be desired) · nn ynskjeleg (suitable to be desired) · he רצוי (suitable to be desired) · ca desitjable (suitable to be desired) · nn ønskeleg (suitable to be desired) · fi haluttava (suitable to be desired) · de wünschenswert (suitable to be desired) · ru жела́нный (suitable to be desired) · hu kívánatos (suitable to be desired) · fi toivottava (suitable to be desired) · he מבוקש (suitable to be desired) · es conveniente (suitable to be desired) · de begehrenswert (suitable to be desired) · de erwünscht (suitable to be desired) · fr souhaitable (suitable to be desired) · cmn 合意 (suitable to be desired) · de erstrebenswert (suitable to be desired) · sq dëshirueshëm (suitable to be desired) · sv eftersträvansvärd (suitable to be desired) · grc ἐφετός (suitable to be desired) · th พึงประสงค์ (suitable to be desired) · hy ցանկալի (suitable to be desired) · nl wenselijk (suitable to be desired) · eo dezirinda (suitable to be desired) · mk посакуван (suitable to be desired) · bg желателен (suitable to be desired) · fr désirable (suitable to be desired) · cs žádoucí (suitable to be desired) · la optābilis (suitable to be desired) · tr tatminkar (suitable to be desired) · gl desexábel (suitable to be desired) · it desiderabile (suitable to be desired) · ja 望ましい (suitable to be desired) · nn ynskeleg (suitable to be desired) · pl pożądany (suitable to be desired) · ka სასურველი (suitable to be desired) · fi toivottu (suitable to be desired) · ro de dorit (suitable to be desired) · mk пожелен (suitable to be desired) · cmn 合乎願望的 /合乎愿望的 (suitable to be desired) · he נחשק (suitable to be desired) · uk ба́жаний (suitable to be desired) · el επιθυμητός (suitable to be desired) · th ตามปรารถนา (suitable to be desired) · sv önskvärd (suitable to be desired) · pt desejável (suitable to be desired) · da ønskelig (suitable to be desired) · bg желан (suitable to be desired) · fi haluttu (suitable to be desired) · nn ønskjeleg (suitable to be desired) · ka სანატრელი (suitable to be desired) · ro dezirabil (suitable to be desired)