Admirable

How to spell admirable

9 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce admirable

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does admirable mean?

1. adjectiveDeserving respect, approval, or warm regard for its quality or merit.

Admirable in a sentence

• Her dedication to the project over so many late nights was truly admirable.

• The restaurant showed an admirable commitment to sourcing local ingredients.

Where does admirable come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin admirabilis, meaning 'worthy of wonder' or 'to be marvelled at'. It was built on the verb admirari, 'to wonder at, to regard with awe', which combines the prefix ad-, meaning 'to' or 'at', with mirari, 'to wonder', itself from mirus, meaning 'wonderful' or 'astonishing'. English took the word in during the 1400s, partly through Old French admirable, and at first it carried a stronger flavour of amazement than it does today, where it simply means deserving of respect or approval. The same mirus root also gave us 'miracle', 'mirror' (originally a thing one gazes at in wonder), and of course the verb 'admire'. A useful spelling cue is that the stress falls on the first syllable, AD-mir-able, and the silent reshaping means there is no 'e' after the 'r', unlike the verb 'admire' from which it feels descended.

How the word is built

• ad- (to, at)
• mir (from mirari: to wonder)
• -able (worthy of)