tractable
/ˈtɹæk.tə.bəl/adjective
tractable is spelled T-R-A-C-T-A-B-L-E: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 6 million words in written English, the 74,122nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, tractable means “Capable of being easily led, taught, or managed” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in tractable?
| Letters | 9: T-R-A-C-T-A-B-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 6 million words; the 74,122nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is tractable?
Tractable appears about once in every 6 million words in written English, the 74,122nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce tractable?
- US /ˈtɹæk.tə.bəl/
Tractable has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-tractable.ogg, En-au-tractable.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with tractable?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as tractable from its last stressed vowel (/æktəbəl/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of tractable
- more tractable comparative
- most tractable superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does tractable mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Capable of being easily led, taught, or managed.
- 2
Easy to deal with or manage.
- 3
Capable of being shaped; malleable.
I need not point out the advantages of modelling in a material as durable as stone. . . . Mixed up with just enough water to form a stiff paste, it accommodates itself to the touch of the modelling tool. . . . There are two inherent difficu
- 4
obsoleteCapable of being handled or touched.
- 5
Sufficiently operationalizable or useful to allow a mathematical calculation to proceed toward a solution.
- 6
Algorithmically solvable fast enough to be practically relevant, typically in polynomial time.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Tractable in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | docile, conciliant, malléable |
| Portuguese | manejável , dúctil |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does tractable come from?
From Middle English tractable, tractabel, from Latin tractābilis (“that may be touched, handled, or managed”), from tractō (“take in hand, handle, manage”), frequentative of trahō (“draw”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).