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predictable
/prɪˈdɪktəbəl/
easily foreseen or anticipated
Her reactions were so predictable that her friends could always guess what she would say.
Her behavior was easy to anticipate, making her responses obvious to others.
general
able to be foreseen or anticipated; lacking surprise or originality
The plot of the movie was predictable from the first scene.
The story followed a familiar pattern that was easy to guess.
He gave a predictable answer to the question.
His response was exactly what everyone expected.
Often used to describe situations, behaviors, or outcomes that are easily anticipated due to repetition or lack of creativity.
Collocations
predictable patterna repeated or expected sequence of eventspredictable outcomea result that was expected or foreseenpredictable behavioractions that follow a familiar or expected pattern
Pro Tip
Avoiding predictability
To make your writing or behavior less predictable, introduce unexpected elements or variations.
Gold Rule
Context matters
Predictable can be neutral or negative depending on context—it can describe something reliable or something boring.
Word Origin
From Middle English 'predictable,' from Latin 'praedictus,' past participle of 'praedicere' (to foretell), from 'prae-' (before) + 'dicere' (to say).
Usage Notes
The word is often used to describe things that lack novelty or creativity, sometimes with a negative connotation implying a lack of originality.
Word Breakdown
pre-
before
prefix-dict
to say or speak
root-able
capable of
suffixEnglish Dictionary