# comparable
## English
### Etymology

From Middle English comparable, from Middle French comparable, from Latin comparābilis. By surface analysis, compare +‎ -able.

### Pronunciation

* (UK) IPA: /ˈkɒmp(ə)ɹəbl̩/, /kəmˈpæɹəbl̩/
** Audio (Southern England):(file)
** Audio (Southern England):(file)
* (US) IPA: /ˈkɑmp(ə)ɹəbl̩/, /kəmˈpæɹəbl̩/
* (US, Mary–marry–merry merger) IPA: /kəmˈpɛɹəbl̩/

### Adjective

comparable (comparative more comparable, superlative most comparable)
* (often with to) Able to be compared (to).
    An elephant is comparable in size to a double-decker bus.
    You can't say that robbing a bank is like pickpocketing. The two are just not comparable.
** 1951 April, Stirling Everard, “A Matter of Pedigree”, in Railway Magazine, number 600, page 273:The firebox married to Britannia's boiler is not, however, in the Doncaster tradition, notwithstanding that it is comparable in dimensions to that of the "V2."
** 2022 January 12, Sir Michael Holden, “Reform of the workforce or death by a thousand cuts?”, in RAIL, number 948, page 22:As yet, we don't know what the comparable figures will be like for the current financial year which ends in March 2022, but we can have a good stab at approximating them.
* (often with to) Similar (to); like.
** 2013 July-August, Philip J. Bushnell, “Solvents, Ethanol, Car Crashes & Tolerance”, in American Scientist:Furthermore, this increase in risk is comparable to the risk of death from leukemia after long-term exposure to benzene, another solvent, which has the well-known property of causing this type of cancer.
* (mathematics) Constituting a pair in a particular partial order.
    Six and forty-two are comparable in the divides order, but six and nine are not.
* (grammar) Said of an adjective that has comparative and superlative forms.
    Synonym: gradable
    "Big" is a comparable adjective, since it can take the forms "bigger" and "biggest"; but "unique" and "true" are not comparable, except in disputed, but common, usage.

#### Usage notes

The pronunciation /ˈkɒmp(ə)ɹəbl̩/ is almost never used for sense 4.

#### Derived terms

* biocomparable
* comparability
* comparable function
* comparableness
* comparable worth
* comparably
* incomparable
* intercomparable
* noncomparable (or non-comparable)
* uncomparable

#### Translations
### Noun

comparable (plural comparables)
* Something suitable for comparison.
** 2009 January 2, Fred A. Bernstein, “Catskill Home Prices: How Low Will They Go?”, in New York Times‎:And the appraiser said he couldn't come up with comparables, because there hadn't been any sales nearby in several months.

### Further reading

* “comparable”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
* comparable in Britannica Dictionary
* comparable in Ozdic collocation dictionary
* comparable adjectives, gradable adjectives at the Google Books Ngram Viewer.

## Asturian
### Etymology

From Latin comparābilis.

### Adjective

comparable (epicene, plural comparables)
* comparable

#### Related terms

* comparar
* incomparable

## Catalan
### Etymology

Borrowed from Latin comparābilis.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: (Central) [kum.pəˈɾab.blə]
* IPA: (Balearic) [kom.pəˈɾab.blə]
* IPA: (Valencia) [kom.paˈɾa.ble]

### Adjective

comparable m or f (masculine and feminine plural comparables)
* comparable
    Antonym: incomparable

#### Derived terms

* comparablement

#### Related terms

* comparar
* incomparable

### Further reading

* “comparable” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

## French
### Etymology

From Latin comparābilis.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /kɔ̃.pa.ʁabl/
* Audio (Paris):(file)

### Adjective

comparable (plural comparables)
* comparable (suitable to be compared)

#### Related terms

* comparabilité

### Further reading

* “comparable”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

## Galician
### Alternative forms

* comparábel

### Etymology

From Latin comparābilis.

### Adjective

comparable m or f (plural comparables)
* comparable

#### Related terms

* comparar
* incomparábel / incomparable

### Further reading

* “comparable”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2025

## Middle English
### Alternative forms

* comperable

### Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French comparable, from Latin comparābilis; equivalent to comparen +‎ -able.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˌkɔmpaˈraːbəl/, /ˌkɔmpaˈraːblə/, /ˈkɔmpərabəl/

### Adjective

comparable (Late Middle English)
* Of identical or similar value; comparing favourably.
* Comparable, commensurable; suitable for comparison.

#### Descendants

* English: comparable

#### References

* “comparāble, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

## Spanish
### Etymology

From Latin comparābilis.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /kompaˈɾable/ [kõm.paˈɾa.β̞le]
* Rhymes: -able
* Syllabification: com‧pa‧ra‧ble

### Adjective

comparable m or f (masculine and feminine plural comparables)
* comparable
    Synonym: equiparable
    Antonym: incomparable

#### Derived terms

* comparabilidad
* comparablemente

#### Related terms

* comparar
* incomparable

### Further reading

* “comparable”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10