Meaning & use
suitable
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Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Good enough or right for a particular purpose, job, or situation.
Grammar: Use it before a noun (a suitable place) or after a linking verb (the place is suitable).
Patterns
- suitable for something
- suitable for someone
- suitable to do something
- a suitable candidate/place/time
This room is suitable for small meetings.
We need to find a suitable person to lead the project.
The water here is not suitable for drinking.
adjectivecomparable
Appropriate for a person or occasion, especially in a way that follows social rules.
Grammar: Often used about clothes, language, or behavior; compare suitable with unsuitable, its opposite.
Patterns
- suitable for an occasion
- suitable clothes/behavior
- not suitable for children
That dress isn't suitable for a job interview.
The movie is not suitable for young children.
His jokes were hardly suitable for a formal dinner.
Word forms
| comparative | more suitable |
|---|---|
| superlative | most suitable |
Common combinations
- suitable for
- This software is suitable for beginners.
- suitable candidate
- She is the most suitable candidate for the job.
- perfectly suitable
- The hotel was perfectly suitable for our needs.
- suitable alternative
- Is there a suitable alternative to this medicine?
- not suitable for
- These shoes are not suitable for hiking.
Synonyms and how they differ
- appropriate
- Very close in meaning, but appropriate often stresses what is correct for a social situation, while suitable stresses what works for a purpose.
- fitting
- Slightly more formal and often about what feels right or proper, as in a fitting tribute.
- adequate
- Means just good enough, without suggesting it is the best or most proper choice.
Opposites
Word family
- suitability noun
- The quality of being right or appropriate for a purpose.
- suitably adverb
- In a way that is right for the purpose, as in suitably dressed.
- unsuitable adjective
- Not right or appropriate for a purpose or person.
Commonly confused: suitable or suited?
suitable vs suited
Suited means right for a person or thing, often followed by to or for: he is suited to teaching. Suitable describes the thing itself: a suitable job.
Practice
Which sentence uses suitable correctly?
Choose one answer.
Suitable is normally followed by for before a person or purpose: suitable for children. 'Suitable to' is used mainly before a verb (suitable to drink), and with/of are not used with this adjective.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “suitable”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.