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DESIRABLE
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Worth having or seeking or achieving
Example:
a desirable outcome
Classified under:
Similar:
coveted; in demand; sought-after; sought after (greatly desired)
delectable; sexually attractive (capable of arousing sexual desire)
enviable (causing envy)
plummy (very desirable)
preferable; preferred (more desirable than another)
Also:
lovable; loveable (having characteristics that attract love or affection)
wanted (desired or wished for or sought)
Antonym:
undesirable (not wanted)
Derivation:
desirability; desirableness (the quality of being worthy of desiring)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Worthy of being chosen especially as a spouse
Example:
the parents found the girl suitable for their son
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Similar:
eligible (qualified for or allowed or worthy of being chosen)
Derivation:
desirability; desirableness (attractiveness to the opposite sex)
Context examples:
Heterogeneous materials comprised of nanoparticles and plastic resin to provide added strength and desirable thermal attributes.
(Nanocomposite, NCI Thesaurus)
These nanoscale devices have desirable optical and thermal properties that can be exploited for novel cancer therapeutics.
(Nanobomb, NCI Thesaurus)
Laurie says he is fast, and I don't consider him a desirable acquaintance, so I let him alone.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
You may find things click now, and you have that desirable second chance.
(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)
For instance, the Springtime Amanita (Amanita velosa) is a highly desirable edible wild mushroom in the Pacific coastal United States.
(New Test Identifies Poisonous Mushrooms, Agricultural Research Service)
Neither of these returnings was very pleasant or desirable: no magnet drew me to a given point, increasing in its strength of attraction the nearer I came.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
"But shorter wavelengths of light are often desirable at those same deep areas. We have designed a system that can deliver visible laser light at penetration depths accessible to longer wavelengths."
(Tiny, biocompatible laser could function inside living tissues, National Science Foundation)
Spinach is one of the most desirable leafy vegetables with high levels of beta-carotene (provitamin A), lutein, folate, vitamin C, calcium, iron, phosphorus, and potassium.
(World's First True Red Spinach Variety Released, U.S. Department of Agriculture)
Our chambers were always full of chemicals and of criminal relics which had a way of wandering into unlikely positions, and of turning up in the butter-dish or in even less desirable places.
(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Your presence here was desirable.
(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
