curable

IPA/ˈkjʊərəbl/
KK[kjˈʊrəbəl]IPA/ˈkjʊrəbl/

curable — adjective

  • curablepositive
  • more curablecomparative
  • most curablesuperlative

1. used for an illness or medical condition that treatment can successfully make we

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

used for an illness or medical condition that treatment can successfully make well.

Example

Doctors told Mina that the infection was <hl>curable</hl> with a short course of antibiotics.

be curable with [treatment]

Because the tumor was found early, it was still <hl>curable</hl> after surgery.

common pattern: found early + still curable

Common collocations
  • curable disease
  • curable cancer
  • curable infection
  • curable condition
  • curable illness
  • highly curable
Synonyms
  • treatable

    wider in meaning; a condition can be treatable even if treatment does not completely remove it

  • healable

    less common; often used of wounds or emotional harm as well as illness

  • reversible

    focuses on changing a condition back, not specifically curing a disease

Antonyms
  • incurable

    direct opposite; impossible to cure

  • terminal

    used for an illness expected to cause death rather than be cured

Grammar Patterns

curable + noun

be + curable

find/prove something curable

Usage Note

Usually describes diseases, infections, cancers, or other health conditions rather than ordinary problems or damaged objects. Often appears after be or before medical nouns such as curable cancer or curable disease.

Common Mistakes

The broken screen is curable.
The broken screen is repairable.
curable is normally used for illnesses or medical conditions, not objects.
Doctors said the infection is cured.
Doctors said the infection is curable.
cured means it has already been made well; curable means treatment can still succeed.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Curable is the strongest of these words because it suggests the illness can be fully removed, not merely controlled. Treatable is broader: doctors may be able to reduce pain or slow a disease, even when it does not disappear completely. Reversible is used when a harmful condition can be changed back, such as reversible hearing loss or reversible damage, so it is not limited to disease. Healable is less common in medical writing and often describes wounds, skin, or even emotional hurt rather than a diagnosed illness. In practice, a curable infection should go away with proper care, while a treatable one may still need long-term management.

treatable ↗healable ↗reversible ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • be curable with treatment
  • remain curable when found early
  • prove curable after testing

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchEnglish

Curable is built from cure and the suffix -able, which means 'able to be.' Cure came into English through Old French from the Latin word cura, meaning 'care' or 'treatment.' The adjective developed to describe illnesses or conditions that can be made well by medical help.