désirable

Désirable is a French adjective meaning that which is worthy of desire or something that is pleasing, advantageous, or sought after. It can describe people, objects, traits, or outcomes that are considered beneficial or attractive. The term is commonly used in formal, academic, and policy writing as well as in everyday speech.

Etymology and form: désirable derives from Latin desiderabilis, meaning “worthy of being desired,” which passed into Old French as desir-able and evolved into the modern French désirable. The word shows typical French adjective inflection: masculine singular désirable, feminine singular désirable, masculine plural désirables, and feminine plural des sont of the same form as the masculine plural désirables.

Usage notes: désirable tends to appear in contexts where positive evaluation or goal-oriented assessment is intended, such as descriptions of characteristics, features, or outcomes. It often collocates with nouns like qualités, caractéristiques, objectifs, or résultats (e.g., qualités désirables, caractéristiques désirables, objectif désirable, résultat désirable). It is relatively formal and can be found in academic writing, policy documents, and professional discourse. The opposite term is indésirable.

Translations and related terms: in English, the direct translation is desirable (without the accent). In French, synonyms include attrayant, souhaitable, and avantageux, while indésirable serves as the antonym. A related concept in ethics and decision theory is the set of “qualités souhaitables” or “critères souhaitables” used to describe desirable traits or outcomes.

Example sentence: Les qualités désirables d’un candidat incluent la rigueur, la créativité et l’esprit d’équipe.