adjective
habitable
HAB-uh-tuh-buhl/ˈhæbɪtəbl/
Suitable or safe to live in.
Working heat and clean running water make the apartment habitable.
Etymology
The pieces express fitness for dwelling: a habitable place can serve as a human abode. The word describes suitability for living, not whether anyone actually lives there.
In context
… if you do not have a certificate of occupancy required people end up moving into places that are really not habitable …
More examples
- The house is not habitable until the roof is repaired.
- Only two rooms in the old farmhouse are habitable.
- Researchers search for habitable planets beyond our solar system.
Forms
habitable
habitability noun — The suitability of a place for living.
uninhabitable adjective — Not suitable or safe to live in.
Similar words
- livable
- Often suggests comfort, not just basic fitness for residence.
- inhabitable
- Also means fit to live in, but is less common.