desitjable

Desitjable is an adjective used in Catalan to denote something that is desired or advantageous. It refers to qualities, outcomes, or policies that are considered favorable or that people would prefer. It is cognate with the Spanish deseable and the French désirable, sharing its root with the verb desitjar, meaning to desire. The form desitjable is commonly used with both masculine and feminine nouns, and the plural form is desitjables (for example, un resultat desitjable; una situació desitjable; condicions desitjables).

Usage and meanings tend to include two closely related senses: normative desirability (what should happen or what is advisable) and practical desirability (what would be advantageous or beneficial in a given context). In planning, policy, and evaluation language, desitjable often appears in phrases like condició desitjable (a desirable condition), objectiu desitjable (a desirable objective), or escenari desitjable (a desirable scenario).

Grammatical notes: as with many Catalan adjectives ending in -able, desitjable typically agrees with number, while gender is shown through the noun it modifies, not the adjective form itself. It can be contrasted with synonyms such as preferable (preferible) and beneficial (beneficial) depending on nuance.

See also: deseo and desitjar in Catalan, and related terms in Romance languages. For cross-linguistic use, Spanish speakers may encounter deseable, while English uses desirable.