Susceptible

How to spell susceptible

11 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce susceptible

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does susceptible mean?

1. adjectiveLikely to be influenced, harmed, or affected by a particular thing.

Susceptible in a sentence

• Young children are especially susceptible to coughs and colds in winter.

• The old wooden beams are susceptible to damp and rot.

Where does susceptible come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word comes from the Latin susceptibilis, meaning 'capable of receiving' or 'able to take up'. It was built on the verb suscipere, 'to take up' or 'to receive', formed from sub- 'up from under' and capere 'to take' (the same root that gives us 'capture', 'accept' and 'receive'). The literal idea was of something that could take in or absorb an influence, and that physical notion of receiving gradually broadened into the modern sense of being open or vulnerable to something, whether an illness, an emotion or persuasion. English adopted the word in the early 1600s, drawing it from Latin partly through scholarly and medical writing. The cept spelling, the same one hiding in 'accept' and 'except', is the clue worth remembering, and the ending is -ible rather than -able, a frequent stumbling point.

How the word is built

• sus- (up, under)
• cept (from capere: to take)
• -ible (capable of being)