English Reference

Word

acceptability

Phoneticsac·cept·abil·i·ty

US/əkˌsɛptəˈbɪɫəti/

UK/ɐksˌɛptəbˈɪlɪti/

Definition

n. the quality of being good enough or right for a specific purpose. It describes whether something is considered acceptable by a group of people or a set of rules.

n. the quality of being satisfactory or suitable for a particular purpose or standard. Often used in technical or formal contexts to evaluate whether a result meets required criteria.

Examples

“The team is checking the acceptability of the new design.”

“The committee met to discuss the acceptability of the proposed changes to the safety regulations.”

“While the initial data showed promise, the researchers had to verify the statistical acceptability of their findings before publishing the final report.”

Examples

simple

“The team is checking the acceptability of the new design.”

contextual

“The committee met to discuss the acceptability of the proposed changes to the safety regulations.”

complex

“While the initial data showed promise, the researchers had to verify the statistical acceptability of their findings before publishing the final report.”

Real-World Examples

“When non-birthing parents are men, another barrier to taking leave is its perceived social acceptability within their communities.”
Phys.org · 28 Sept 2026
“When non-birthing parents are men, another barrier to taking leave is the perceived social acceptability within their communities.”
The Conversation · 28 Sept 2026
“The EU executive would not be drawn on what further action it could take, but the independent European Data Protection Board commissioned a report expected in autumn looking at the glasses' "social acceptability".”
The Local · 12 Sept 2026

Etymology

From Latin acceptābilitās. By surface analysis, accept + -ability.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Related words

Domain

Military

This entry

Level
C1 · Advanced
Frequency
Occasional
Updated

Scan code

englishreference.com/q/acceptability

English Reference