Meaning & use
editable
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Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Able to be changed, corrected or rewritten by a person who has permission to work on it.
Grammar: Usually describes a thing, before a noun or after a linking verb: an editable file, the file is editable.
Patterns
- editable by someone
- an editable something
The spreadsheet is editable by everyone on the team, so please add your numbers before Friday.
I saved the form as an editable PDF so the client could fill in the blanks.
Once the video was exported, the text on screen was no longer editable.
adjectivecomparable
Suitable for being cut, trimmed or revised for publication, broadcast or a final version.
Grammar: Describes raw material such as footage or a draft: editable footage.
Patterns
- easily editable
The interview ran long, but the recording was clean and easily editable.
Her first draft was rough, yet it was still editable into a solid article.
Common combinations
- fully editable
- The template is fully editable, so you can change every color and heading.
- editable text
- Scanned pages have to be converted into editable text before you can correct them.
- editable field
- Only the name box is an editable field; the date fills in by itself.
- editable document
- Please send the report as an editable document, not a picture of one.
- easily editable
- The settings are stored in an easily editable file.
Synonyms and how they differ
- modifiable
- Modifiable is more general and technical, and covers any kind of change, whereas editable usually points to words, data or media.
- changeable
- Changeable often means likely to change by itself, like weather, while editable means a person can deliberately alter it.
- revisable
- Revisable is rarer and sounds more formal, and it stresses improving a text rather than simply being open to changes.
Opposites
Word family
- edit verb
- to correct or revise written, audio or video material
- editor noun
- a person who edits, or a program used for editing
- editing noun
- the work of revising and preparing material
- edition noun
- a particular published version of a book or newspaper
- uneditable adjective
- impossible to change
Commonly confused: editable or edible?
editable vs edible
Edible means safe to eat, while editable means able to be changed. They look similar but have nothing in common in meaning.
Practice
The file was locked, so the team could read it but it was no longer ____.
Choose one answer.
Editable means able to be changed, which fits a locked file. Edible is a similar-looking word that means safe to eat.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “editable”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.