vi·a·ble

[vahy-uh-buhl]
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; < French, equivalent to vie life (< Latin vīta) + -able -able

vi·a·bil·i·ty, noun
vi·a·bly, adverb
un·vi·a·ble, adjective

feasible, viable.


5. practical, feasible, usable, adaptable.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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World English Dictionary
viable (ˈvaɪəbəl) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
adj
1.  capable of becoming actual, useful, etc; practicable: a viable proposition
2.  (of seeds, eggs, etc) capable of normal growth and development
3.  (of a fetus) having reached a stage of development at which further development can occur independently of the mother
 
[C19: from French, from vie life, from Latin vīta]
 
via'bility
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

viable
1828, from Fr. viable "capable of life" (1539), from vie "life" (from L. vita "life;" see vital) + -able. Originally of newborn infants; generalized sense is first recorded 1848.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

viable 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.


vi'a·bil'i·ty n.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Example sentences
We need to cut spending to make our fiscal future more reasonable, more viable.
But with the costs of discovering drugs soaring, mergers are coming more
  economically viable.
Electricity thus generated is viable, albeit the cost can still be a bit too
  steep.
We're creating a more legal membership structure, so it is a viable private
  club, and that will be finished in the next month.
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