Meaning & use
teachable
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Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Willing and able to learn, and ready to accept advice or correction.
Grammar: Gradable: very teachable, more teachable.
Patterns
- a teachable person
- be teachable
The coach liked the new striker because he was humble and teachable.
Young puppies are far more teachable than older dogs, though not impossible.
If you stay teachable, every mistake becomes useful.
adjectivecomparable
Able to be passed on to others through instruction, as opposed to being a natural gift.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after be: a teachable skill, the skill is teachable.
Patterns
- a teachable skill
- be teachable to someone
Punctuality is a teachable habit, not a personality trait.
Good public speaking is largely teachable.
The company argued that leadership is teachable in a few short workshops.
Word forms
| comparative | more teachable |
|---|---|
| superlative | most teachable |
Common combinations
- teachable moment
- The argument became a teachable moment about sharing.
- highly teachable
- She is highly teachable and asks smart questions.
- teachable skill
- Basic budgeting is a teachable skill.
- remain teachable
- Even experts should remain teachable.
- not easily teachable
- Good judgment is not easily teachable.
Synonyms and how they differ
- receptive
- Receptive describes openness to ideas in general, while teachable stresses readiness to be instructed.
- docile
- Docile suggests easy to control and can sound negative, whereas teachable is a compliment about learning.
- coachable
- Coachable is most common in sport and business and implies accepting feedback from a coach.
- trainable
- Trainable is often used of animals or workers and focuses on being shaped into a skill.
Opposites
Word family
- teach verb
- to give instruction
- teacher noun
- a person who teaches
- teachability noun
- the quality of being teachable
- unteachable adjective
- unwilling or unable to learn
Commonly confused: teachable or teachable?
teachable vs teachable
Not the same as taught: a teachable skill can be taught, while a taught skill already has been.
Practice
The manager promoted Dana because she was talented and, above all, ____, always asking for feedback.
Choose one answer.
Teachable means ready to learn and accept feedback, which fits asking for feedback. Self-taught means learned without a teacher and does not fit as well.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “teachable”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.