denkbare

Denkbare is a German term used as an adjective meaning able to be thought or imagined; its common noun form das Denkbare refers to things that can be conceived. In everyday German, denkbar is used to indicate feasibility or plausibility: Es ist denkbar, dass... It is often contrasted with unmöglich (impossible) or unvorstellbar (inconceivable).

Etymology and form: Denkbar is formed from the verb denken (to think) and the suffix -bar, which marks capability or suitability, analogous to English -able. The noun form das Denkbare is a nominalized usage of the adjective, referring to the thinkable domain or to thinkable propositions.

Usage and nuance: In ordinary language, denken/ein Denkbares is used to signal that a scenario or claim can be conceived without asserting its actuality. In philosophical contexts, denkbar is used when assessing conceivability as a criterion for possibilities or thought experiments. A key caution is that conceivability does not guarantee real-world possibility; many thinkers discuss gaps between what is thinkable and what is actually possible.

Examples: Common constructions include "Eine denkbare Lösung wäre..." or "Es ist denkbar, dass..." The term can also appear in discussions of thought experiments to delimit denkbare Möglichkeiten from those that are logically or physically impossible.

Related terms: vorstellbar (imaginable), möglich (possible), unmöglich (impossible), unvorstellbar (inconceivable). The noun form das Denkbare is used in philosophical or analytical writing to denote the realm of what can be thought or imagined.