soluble
adj.adj. able to be dissolved in a liquid, usually water. You use this to describe things like sugar or salt that disappear when you stir them into a drink.
adj. capable of being dissolved, especially in water. Often used in scientific contexts to describe the chemical property of a substance in relation to a solvent.
Sugar is highly soluble in hot water.
The doctor prescribed a soluble tablet that dissolves quickly in a glass of water for easier swallowing.
Environmental scientists are concerned that these soluble pollutants may leach into the groundwater, potentially contaminating the local drinking supply for decades.
From Middle English soluble, from Old French soluble, from Late Latin solūbilis, from Latin solvere (“to loosen”) + -bilis. Piecewise doublet of solvable.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Often followed by the preposition 'in' to specify the solvent.
- Nounsolubility
- Adjectivesoluble
Last updated May 6, 2026