viable

• POS: Adjective
• HYPHEN: vi=a=ble

CIDE DICTIONARY

viable, a. [F., from vie life, L. vita. See Vital.].

 Capable of living; born alive and with such form and development of organs as to be capable of living; -- said of a newborn, or a prematurely born, infant.  [1913 Webster]
"VIABLE, Vitae habilis, capable of living. This is said of a child who is born alive in such an advanced state of formation as to be capable of living. Unless be is born viable he acquires no rights and cannot transmit them to his heirs, and is considered as if he had never been born."  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

viable, adj.
1 (of a plan etc.) feasible; practicable esp. from an economic standpoint.
2 a (of a plant, animal, etc.) capable of living or existing in a particular climate etc. b (of a foetus or newborn child) capable of maintaining life.
3 (of a seed or spore) able to germinate.

Derivative

viability n. viably adv.

Etymology

F f. vie life f. L vita

THESAURUS

viable

OK, aboveground, acceptable, achievable, actable, activating, admissible, agreeable, alive, alive and kicking, all right, alright, among the living, animate, animated, animating, animative, applicable, attainable, bracing, breathing, capable of life, compassable, conscious, doable, endowed with life, energizing, enlivened, enlivening, exhilarating, exhilarative, existent, feasible, good enough, in the flesh, inspirited, instinct with life, invigorating, invigorative, live, living, long-lived, manageable, maneuverable, manipulatable, negotiable, of concern, of concernment, of consequence, of interest, of moment, of note, of significance, of weight, okay, operable, operatable, overcomable, passable, performable, possible, practicable, practical, quick, quickening, realizable, reasonable, rousing, sensible, stimulating, stimulative, superable, supportable, surmountable, sustainable, tenable, tenacious of life, tonic, unexceptionable, unobjectionable, very much alive, vital, vitalizing, vivified, workable, zoetic