acceptable

Name: acceptable, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/əkˈsɛp.tə.bəl/

//əkˈsɛp.tə.bəl// adj

By PlainSpell Editorial Team · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“acceptable” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #4,503 in English word frequency and used as an adjective.

#4,503
frequency rank, English: 10
letters: 14
tracked misspellings: 1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Worthy, decent, sure of being accepted or received with at least moderate pleasure.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

acceptable vs acceptance

80% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for acceptable
Property	Value
Headword	acceptable
Language	English
Part of speech	Adjective
IPA	/əkˈsɛp.tə.bəl/
Letters	10
Frequency rank	#4,503
Misspellings tracked	14
Confusable pairs	1
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “acceptable” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). acceptable lands here:

#4,503

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for acceptable is 10 letters long, classified as an adjective, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /əkˈsɛp.tə.bəl/. Corpus data places it at rank #4,503 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for acceptable, with forms such as "accepatble", "accepptable", and "acceptabble". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "acceptance", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English acceptable, from Anglo-Norman and Middle French acceptable, from Late Latin acceptābilis (“worthy of acceptance”). Morphologically accept + -able. The correct English form is acceptable, spelled A-C-C-E-P-T-A-B-L-E.

Definition

1
Worthy, decent, sure of being accepted or received with at least moderate pleasure.
2
Barely worthy, less than excellent; passable.

Etymology

From Middle English acceptable, from Anglo-Norman and Middle French acceptable, from Late Latin acceptābilis (“worthy of acceptance”). Morphologically accept + -able.

This word in other languages

aceptable(Español)acceptable(Français)annehmbar(Deutsch)aceitável(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: accepatble,accepptable,acceptabble,acceptabel,acceptablle,acceptalbe,acceptbale,acceptible,accepttable,accetpable,accpetable,acecptable,aceptable,caceptable

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of acceptable - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

Edit distance from "acceptable"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "acceptable"?

"acceptable" is spelled A-C-C-E-P-T-A-B-L-E. The IPA pronunciation is /əkˈsɛp.tə.bəl/.

What does "acceptable" mean?

As an adjective, "acceptable" means: Worthy, decent, sure of being accepted or received with at least moderate pleasure.

What words are commonly confused with "acceptable"?

"acceptable" is commonly confused with "acceptance". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.

How do you pronounce "acceptable"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "acceptable" is /əkˈsɛp.tə.bəl/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.

What is the origin of the word "acceptable"?

From Middle English acceptable, from Anglo-Norman and Middle French acceptable, from Late Latin acceptābilis (“worthy of acceptance”). Morphologically accept + -able. See the full etymology section above for more details.

Is PlainSpell free to use?

Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “acceptable”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

The one correct English spelling is A-C-C-E-P-T-A-B-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Say it as /əkˈsɛp.tə.bəl/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
Don't mix it up with “acceptance” - see the side-by-side comparison. acceptable vs acceptance
Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.