conceivable
/kənˈsiːvəbl/ (bre, ipa) · /kənˈsiːvəbl/ (ame, ipa) · /kən-ˈsē-və-bəl/ (ame, mw)
conceivable — adjective
- conceivablepositive
- more conceivablecomparative
- most conceivablesuperlative
1. If a situation, idea, or explanation is conceivable, your mind can accept it as
If a situation, idea, or explanation is conceivable, your mind can accept it as something that could happen or be true, even if it seems unlikely.
It is conceivable that the missing cat found its way home through the woods.
pattern: it + be + conceivable + that-clause
The rescue team explored every conceivable route through the mountains before turning back.
collocation: every conceivable + noun
To the villagers, it was not conceivable that anyone could survive three days in the desert.
Engineers are testing every conceivable material to make the bridge stronger against earthquakes.
Is it conceivable that a child could solve such a complex puzzle?
- imaginable
broader term — anything you can picture in your mind, whether reasonable or not
- plausible
implies some evidence or reason exists to support the idea, not just imagination
- thinkable
more informal; focuses on what the mind can consider as a possibility
- believable
emphasises credibility and trustworthiness rather than mere possibility
- inconceivable
the direct opposite — impossible to imagine or believe
- unimaginable
so extreme or strange that the mind cannot picture it
- unthinkable
too shocking or unpleasant to be accepted as a possibility
文法句型
it + be + conceivable + that-clause
every conceivable + noun
not conceivable
用法筆記
Frequently paired with 'every' to mean 'all possible types of' (e.g. every conceivable method). The negative form 'inconceivable' is more common in everyday speech than 'not conceivable'.