-ible or -able - Learning English

Many words end in -ible and -able. Sometimes it is difficult to remember which spelling to use.

The -ible ending is for words of Latin origin. There are about 180 words ending in -ible. No new words are being created with -ible endings. Here are the most common examples:

accessible admissible audible collapsible combustible compatible comprehensible contemptible credible defensible destructible digestible divisible edible fallible

flexible gullible horrible illegible implausible inaccessible incontrovertible incredible indefensible indelible inedible insensible intelligible invincible invisible

illegible irresistible irreversible ostensible permissible plausible possible responsible reversible sensible susceptible suggestible tangible terrible visible

The -able ending is for:

• some Latin words, for example: dependable
• non-Latin words, for example: affordable, renewable, washable
• new (modern) words, for example: networkable, windsurfable

Rule of thumb
This rule can help you decide the correct spelling. It works most (but not all!) of the time. Remember, if you are not sure about a word, it is probably best to use a dictionary. Here is the rule:

• If you remove -able from a word, you are left with a complete word.
• If you remove -ible from a word, you are not left with a complete word (note that accessible, contemptible, digestible, flexible and suggestible above are among the exceptions to this rule).