tractable

adjective

trac·​ta·​ble ˈtrak-tə-bəl 

1

: capable of being easily led, taught, or controlled : docile

a tractable horse

2

: easily handled, managed, or wrought : malleable

tractability

ˌtrak-tə-ˈbi-lə-tē 

noun

tractableness

ˈtrak-tə-bəl-nəs 

noun

tractably

ˈtrak-tə-blē 

adverb

Did you know?

A frequentative is a form of a verb that indicates repeated action. The frequentative of the word sniff, for example, is sniffle, meaning “to sniff repeatedly.” Some English words come from a frequentative in another language, and tractable is one. Tractable, meaning “easily led or managed,” comes from the Latin adjective tractabilis, which in turn comes from the verb tractare, which has various meanings including “to drag about,” “to handle,” “to deal with,” and “to treat.” Not to drag on too much about Latin, but tractare is the frequentative of another Latin verb, trahere, meaning “to drag or pull.” Now, one can pull or tug a draft animal on a lead, for example, whether or not that animal is willing or compliant. But if one can pull, handle, or otherwise deal with that animal repeatedly or continuously with ease (by treating it well, we presume)? Well, you can see where this is leading—in English we would call our helpful animal friend tractable. Speaking of farms, despite its resemblance, tractor did not pass through the frequentative tractare but it does come from trahere.

Synonyms

• amenable
• biddable
• compliant
• conformable
• docile
• law-abiding
• obedient
• submissive

Choose the Right Synonym for tractable

obedient, docile, tractable, amenable mean submissive to the will of another.

obedient implies compliance with the demands or requests of one in authority.

obedient to the government

docile implies a predisposition to submit readily to control or guidance.

a docile child

tractable suggests having a character that permits easy handling or managing.

tractable animals

amenable suggests a willingness to yield or cooperate because of a desire to be agreeable or because of a natural open-mindedness.

amenable to new ideas

Examples of tractable in a Sentence

This new approach should make the problem more tractable.

He's a very tractable child.

Recent Examples on the Web

None of these visions, however, proved tractable: Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran misjudged the strength of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Israeli society, and the U.S.-Israeli alliance. —Amos Yadlin, Foreign Affairs, 17 Dec. 2024

This should make the engine more tractable throughout the rev range, and that’s not taking into consideration an optional race exhaust setup—for track use only, nudge nudge—that bumps those figures up to 126 horsepower and 73 lb-ft of torque, while shaving another 10 pounds. —Michael Teo Van Runkle, Forbes, 31 Oct. 2024

LLMs are much less tractable, much less reliable black boxes. —Kate Irwin, PCMAG, 17 Sep. 2024

But other coalition members have so far proven less tractable. —Ruth Margalit, The New Yorker, 17 June 2024

Word History

Etymology

Latin tractabilis, from tractare to handle, treat

First Known Use

1502, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

tractable

adjective

trac·​ta·​ble ˈtrak-tə-bəl 

: easily led, taught, or controlled

a tractable horse