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Webster 1913 Edition


Actionable

Ac′tion-a-ble

,
Adj.
[Cf. LL.
actionabilis
. See
Action
.]
That may be the subject of an action or suit at law;
as, to call a man a thief is
actionable
.

Webster 1828 Edition


Actionable

AC'TIONABLE

,
Adj.
That will bear a suit, or for which an action at law may be sustained; as, to call a man a thief is actionable.

Definition 2024


actionable

actionable

English

Adjective

actionable (comparative more actionable, superlative most actionable)

  1. That can be acted on; that can be used as the basis for taking action.
    • 2015, Scott Ritter, London Review of Books, vol. 37 no. 13:
      By 1996 most of Unscom’s leads had dried up and my need for actionable information was such that the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) agreed to deal with me directly.
  2. (law) Affording grounds for legal action.
    I'm sure it's not good of me to write that he's a lush, but is it actionable?
    Clearly the libelous book is actionable, but I'm not commenting on anything to do with legal issues.
    • 1891, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: A Case of Identity
      “It may be so, or it may not, Mr. Holmes,” said he, “but if you are so very sharp you ought to be sharp enough to know that it is you who are breaking the law now, and not me. I have done nothing actionable from the first, but as long as you keep that door locked you lay yourself open to an action for assault and illegal constraint.