Eliminable

Eliminable is an adjective meaning able to be eliminated, removed, or ruled out from consideration. It describes objects, propositions, or elements that can be discarded without compromising a larger system, argument, or process.

Origin and formation: It is formed from the verb eliminate plus the suffix -able. The verb eliminate comes from Latin eliminare, from ex- “out” and limen “threshold.” The adjective has been in use in English since early modern times and appears most often in technical or analytic discourse.

Usage: Eliminable is common in mathematics, logic, statistics, and philosophy when discussing whether a term, assumption, variable, or option can be removed. In everyday language, alternatives such as removable or dispensable might be used. The term does not imply that removal is easy or desirable, only that it is possible under the relevant rules or conditions.

Examples: A redundant constraint in a proof is eliminable. A feature with negligible correlation to the outcome is eliminable from the model. An eliminable hypothesis can be discarded after testing.

Eliminability is the noun form; eliminable features indicate potential for simplification. In some fields, eliminability is a property assessed by formal criteria (e.g., independence, redundancy, or identifiability).

Related terms: elimination, eliminant, eliminability, removable, excludable.

See also: elimination, eliminability.