phenomena explicable by the laws of physics
the mystery of those strange noises became quite explicable once we realized that a colony of bats had taken up residence
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Jason Ritter plays Julian’s scenes in this episode with raw emotion, making the character’s choices more explicable, if not entirely forgivable.—Noel Murray, Vulture, 18 Apr. 2025 An extraordinary and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws, and is therefore attributed to a divine agency?—Tim Spiers, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2025 The economy was profoundly more explicable.—William Tarr, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2025 Gender, like art, Peters argues, is not always explicable.—Grace Byron, Vulture, 11 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for explicable
Word History
Etymology
borrowed from Middle French & Latin; Middle French, borrowed from Latin explicābilis "capable of being unraveled," from explicāre "to free from folds or creases, unroll, disentangle, spread out, set out in words" + + -bilis "capable (of acting) or worthy (of being acted upon)" — more at explicate, -able
Share