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🛩️ A flying airship 🕹️ Can be steered
dirigible

dirigible

8.6
Able to be steered or guided
  • adjective
  • /dɪˈrɪdʒəbl/
translation icon : dirigible
  • During the festival, visitors could watch as the dirigible floated high above, precisely following its flight path.

Examples

  • And do not concern yourself... about that dirigible dropping bombs on us.

    The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (1970)

  • At the time of the murder, he was dancing cheek-to-cheek with Fay Wray on the dirigible mooring mast atop the Empire State Building.

    Blog text (30)

  • The dirigible sailed smoothly through the sky, able to be directed to its destination with ease.

  • The inventors proudly showcased their new dirigible, demonstrating how it could be steered and controlled in various directions.

Synonyms

controllable
vsdirigible
11 3.2

Easy to manage or keep within limits

focuses on directional guidance rather than general management or limits
maneuverable
vsdirigible
  • US
6 6.2

Easy to move and turn in tight spaces

is capable of direction but without implying easy or quick movement
steerable
vsdirigible
1 4.6

Easy to guide along a path

is about general directional control rather than only a set path

Antonyms

uncontrollable
47 4.9

Not able to be held back

How Steerable

dirigible
8.6
agile
23 3.7

Surface Forms

dirigible positive

Morphology

dirigible = direct (semi-transparent) = dirig + ible

Formally means 'able to be directed' which is clear semantically, but the base form 'dirig-' is a borrowing and differs in form from the common English word 'direct', so learners may not immediately recognise the connection.

Etymology

Dirigible as an adjective comes from the Latin dirigere, which means 'to steer' or 'to direct', and shares the same root as direct and direction. So something described as dirigible is 'able to be steered' or guided.