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viability - 4 dictionary results

vi⋅a⋅ble

  [vahy-uh-buhl]
Use viability in a Sentence
–adjective
1. capable of living.
2. Physiology.
a. physically fitted to live.
b. (of a fetus) having reached such a stage of development as to be capable of living, under normal conditions, outside the uterus.
3. Botany. able to live and grow.
4. vivid; real; stimulating, as to the intellect, imagination, or senses: a period of history that few teachers can make viable for students.
5. practicable; workable: a viable alternative.
6. having the ability to grow, expand, develop, etc.: a new and viable country.
Origin:
1820–30; < F, equiv. to vie life (< L vīta) + -able -able

Related forms:
vi⋅a⋅bil⋅i⋅ty, noun
vi⋅a⋅bly, adverb

Synonyms:
5. practical, feasible, usable, adaptable.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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vi·a·ble   (vī'ə-bəl)   
adj.  
  1. Capable of living, developing, or germinating under favorable conditions.
  2. Capable of living outside the uterus. Used of a fetus or newborn.
  3. Capable of success or continuing effectiveness; practicable: a viable plan; a viable national economy. See Synonyms at possible.

[French, from vie, life, from Old French, from Latin vīta; see gwei- in Indo-European roots.]
vi'a·bil'i·ty n., vi'a·bly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Viability

Vi`a*bil"i*ty\, n. The quality or state of being viable. Specifically: (a) (Law) The capacity of living after birth. --Bouvier. (b) The capacity of living, or being distributed, over wide geographical limits; as, the viability of a species.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Main Entry: vi·a·bil·i·ty
Pronunciation: "vI-&-'bil-&t-E
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -ties
: the quality or state of being viable : the ability to live, grow, and develop
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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