Meaning & use
admirable
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Meaning
adjectivecomparable
Good enough to earn respect and approval, because of the quality shown or the effort made.
Grammar: Can come before a noun or after a verb: an admirable effort; her patience was admirable.
Patterns
- admirable for something
- an admirable quality
Her honesty under pressure was truly admirable.
He showed admirable restraint when the crowd jeered.
It is admirable that they spend weekends helping their neighbors.
Word forms
| comparative | more admirable |
|---|---|
| superlative | most admirable |
Common combinations
- admirable quality
- Kindness is an admirable quality in a leader.
- admirable restraint
- The coach showed admirable restraint after the loss.
- admirable job
- The volunteers did an admirable job in difficult conditions.
- perfectly admirable
- Wanting to save for the future is perfectly admirable.
- highly admirable
- Her dedication is highly admirable.
Synonyms and how they differ
- commendable
- Commendable is a little more formal and stresses that something deserves praise rather than personal admiration.
- praiseworthy
- Praiseworthy focuses on deserving public approval for an action, while admirable can describe a character trait.
- laudable
- Laudable is formal and usually applies to goals or intentions.
- impressive
- Impressive describes something that makes a strong impact, even if it is not morally good.
Opposites
Word family
- admire verb
- to respect and like someone or something
- admiration noun
- warm respect for someone
- admirably adverb
- in a way that deserves respect
- admirer noun
- a person who admires someone
Commonly confused: admirable or admirable vs admiring?
admirable vs admirable vs admiring
Admirable describes what deserves respect. Admiring describes the person who feels respect, as in an admiring crowd.
Practice
The volunteers showed ______ courage when they entered the flooded building.
Choose one answer.
Admirable describes the courage as deserving respect. Admiring would describe the people watching, not the courage.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “admirable”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.