Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
terminable

terminable

1 7.4
Able to be ended after a set time or when certain things happen
  • adjective
  • /ˈtɜːrmɪnəbl/
translation icon : rescindible
  • If research staff increasingly consists of a professor and several terminable PhD students, but no permanent scientific staff (current development in Germany), how should moral standards arise then?
  • terminable unit

Examples

  • The terminable unit was chosen as the unit of analysis because it better represents sentence complexity than direct measures of utterance length, which include fragments.

    Academic text (2012)

  • See also "Analysis Terminable and Interminable."

    Academic text (1990)

  • Application forms should plainly state that if the applicant is hired, the employment will be terminable at will at any time with or without cause.

    Academic text (1996)

  • Mean length of terminable units in words (MLTU). A terminable unit (T-Unit) is a main clause plus its subordinated clauses (Hunt, 1965).

    Academic text (2012)

  • Mean length of terminable units in words (MLTU). A terminable unit (T-Unit) is a main clause plus its subordinated clauses (Hunt, 1965).

    Academic text (2012)

  • The contract includes a clause that makes it terminable after six months, providing flexibility for both parties.

  • If the project does not meet the required standards, it will be considered terminable by the company.

  • She was relieved to find out that her rental agreement was terminable after one year without penalty.

Synonyms

stoppable
vsterminable
1 3.4

Can be made to end

is ended under a set time or specific condition rather than anytime
cancelable
vsterminable
  • US
3.5

Can be stopped or called off before it starts

is ended only after set periods or when certain conditions occur

Antonyms

perpetual
93 5.8

Lasting for a very long time without stopping

indefinite
39 4.0

Not clearly fixed or known, with no set end date

Compounds

terminable interest
  • Formal
9.9

A temporary right to property that ends on a set event, for example death or remarriage

How Permanent

irreversible
46 6.0
permanent
650 3.2
terminable
1 7.4
temporary
557 3.0
short-term
225 3.3

Surface Forms

terminable positive

Morphology

terminable = terminate (transparent) = terminate + able

Formed by adding the productive adjectival suffix '-able' to the verb 'terminate', yielding the clear meaning 'capable of being terminated'.

Etymology

The word terminable comes from the root termin-, which means 'end' or 'limit' and is the same root you see in term and terminal. So something terminable is 'able to be ended' after a set time or when certain conditions are met.