compatible

English

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English compatible, fron Anglo-Norman compatible, from Medieval Latin compatibilis (“in compatibile beneficium, a benefice which could be held together with another one”), from Late Latin compator (“to suffer with”), from com- (“together”) + pati (“to suffer”); see passion.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, Standard Southern British) IPA^(key): /kəmˈpæt.ə.bəl/, [km̩ˈpæt.ə.bɫ̩]

  • Audio (Berkshire, Standard Southern British):

    (file)

• (US, Canada, Australia) IPA^(key): /kəmˈpæt.ə.bəl/, [km̩ˈpæɾ.ə.bɫ̩]
• (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /kəmˈpɛt.ə.bəl/, (cultivated) [km̩ˈpɛɾ.ə.bɫ̩], [km̩ˈpɛɾ.ə.bʊ]

Adjective

compatible (comparative more compatible, superlative most compatible)

1. Capable of working together without conflict.

   This printer isn't compatible with my computer.

2. Able to get along well.

   My neighbours and I are not very compatible: they're loud and I'm an introvert.

3. Consistent; congruous.

   Synonyms: compliant, congruent, in step; see also Thesaurus:conformant

   His actions were compatible with his sermons.

   an observation not compatible with the facts

   • 1921, Ben Travers, chapter 1, in A Cuckoo in the Nest, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1925, →OCLC:

     She was like a Beardsley Salome, he had said. And indeed she had the narrow eyes and the high cheekbone of that creature, and as nearly the sinuosity as is compatible with human symmetry.

Antonyms

• incompatible
• noncompatible

Hyponyms

• autocompatible
• backward compatible
• backward-compatible
• backwards-compatible
• backwards compatible
• binary-compatible
• biocompatible
• bug compatible
• C++-compatible
• C#-compatible
• COBOL-compatible
• compatibilise
• compatibilism
• compatibilist
• compatibilization
• compatibilize
• compatibleness
• compatibly
• cross-compatible
• cytobiocompatible
• cytocompatible
• FORTRAN-compatible
• Fortran-compatible
• forward compatible
• forwards compatible
• genocompatible
• haemocompatible
• hemocompatible
• histocompatible
• IBM-compatible
• immunocompatible
• intercompatible
• JSF-compatible
• JSP-compatible
• JSX-compatible
• metrically compatible
• metric-compatible
• osteocompatible
• PC-compatible
• plug compatible, plug-compatible
• self-compatible
• serocompatible
• signature-compatible
• uncompatible
• upward compatible

Related terms

• compassion
• compatibility

Translations

capable of easy interaction

• Arabic: مُتَوَافِق (ar) m (mutawāfiq)
• Armenian: համատեղելի (hy) (hamateġeli)
• Asturian: compatible
• Bulgarian: съвместим (bg) (săvmestim)
• Burmese: please add this translation if you can
• Catalan: compatible (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 兼容的 (jiānróng de), 相容的 (xiāngróng de)

• Czech: slučitelný, kompatibilní
• Danish: kompatibel
• Dutch: verenigbaar (nl)
• Esperanto: kongrua
• Estonian: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: yhteensopiva (fi)
• French: compatible (fr)
• Galician: compatible (gl), compatíbel (gl)
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: austauschbar (de), fähig (de), kompatibel (de), verträglich (de), vereinbar (de)
• Greek: please add this translation if you can
• Hebrew: תואם m (toém), מתאים m (mat'ím)
• Hungarian: please add this translation if you can
• Icelandic: samhæfður, samhæfur
• Italian: compatibile (it)
• Khmer: please add this translation if you can
• Korean: please add this translation if you can
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: sazgar (ku)

• Latvian: please add this translation if you can
• Lithuanian: please add this translation if you can
• Māori: hototahi (refers specifically to computing)
• Norwegian: forenelig (no)

  Bokmål: kompatibel (no)

  Nynorsk: kompatibel

• Persian: سازگار (sâzegâr)
• Polish: kompatybilny, zgodny (pl)
• Portuguese: compatível (pt)
• Romanian: compatibil (ro) m
• Russian: совмести́мый (ru) (sovmestímyj), сочета́емый (ru) (sočetájemyj)
• Serbo-Croatian: kompatibilan (sh) m
• Spanish: compatible (es)
• Swedish: kompatibel (sv)
• Tagalog: magkasundo, magkahiyang
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Turkish: bağdaşan, bağdaşır, uyumlu (tr)
• Vietnamese: tương thích (vi), tương hợp (vi)

able to get along well

• Bulgarian: съвместим (bg) (săvmestim)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 相處融洽的 / 相处融洽的 (xiāngchǔ róngqià de), 合得來的 / 合得来的 (hédelái de), 性格相合的 (xìnggé xiānghé de)

• Dutch: verenigbaar (nl)
• Esperanto: simpatia (eo)
• Finnish: toimeen tuleva (fi), yhteen sopiva
• French: compatible (fr)
• Galician: compatíbel (gl) m or f
• German: kompatibel (de), verträglich (de), ein gutes Gespann
• Italian: compatibile (it)
• Polish: kompatybilny
• Russian: совмести́мый (ru) (sovmestímyj), подходящий друг другу (podxodjaščij drug drugu)
• Tagalog: magkasundo, magkahiyang
• Vietnamese: hợp (vi), thích hợp (vi)

consistent; congruous

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 協調的 / 协调的 (xiétiáo de), 一致的 (yīzhì de), 相容的 (xiāngróng de)

• Finnish: yhteensopiva (fi), yhtäpitävä (fi); linjassa (in line)
• German: im Einklang, gut verträglich
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: forenelig (no)

• Russian: совпада́ющий (ru) (sovpadájuščij), сочета́ющийся (ru) (sočetájuščijsja)
• Tagalog: magkasundo
• Vietnamese: phù hợp (vi)

Noun

compatible (plural compatibles)

1. Something that is compatible with something else.

   a computer company that sells IBM compatibles

Translations

something that is compatible with something else

•  Chinese:

   Mandarin: 兼容物件 (jiānróng wùjiàn), 相容組件 / 相容组件 (xiāngróng zǔjiàn), 配套物品 (pèitào wùpǐn), 相容機 / 相容机

•  Finnish: yhteensopiva laite
•  French: please add this translation if you can

Further reading

• “compatible”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin Eli Smith, editors (1895–1910), “compatible”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.

Asturian

Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin compatibilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kompaˈtible/ [kõm.paˈt̪i.β̞le]
• Rhymes: -ible
• Syllabification: com‧pa‧ti‧ble

Adjective

compatible (epicene, plural compatibles)

1. compatible (capable of easy interaction)

Related terms

• compatibilidá

Further reading

• “compatible”, in Diccionariu de la llingua asturiana [Dictionary of the Asturian Language] (in Asturian), 1st edition, Academy of the Asturian Language [Asturian: Academia de la Llingua Asturiana], 2000, →ISBN

Catalan

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin compatibilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern, Central) [kum.pəˈtib.blə]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [kom.pəˈtib.blə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [kom.paˈti.ble]
• IPA^(key): (Northwestern) [kom.paˈtib.ble]

Adjective

compatible m or f (masculine and feminine plural compatibles)

1. compatible

   Antonym: incompatible

Derived terms

• compatibilitat
• compatibilitzar
• incompatible

Further reading

• “compatible”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007
• “compatible”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026
• “compatible” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• Alcover, Antoni Maria; Moll, Francesc de Borja (1963), “compatible”, in Diccionari català-valencià-balear (in Catalan)

French

Etymology

Inherited from Middle French compatible, from Medieval Latin compatibilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɔ̃.pa.tibl/

• Audio (Switzerland (Valais)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Toulouse)):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

• Audio (France):

  (file)

• Audio (France (Vosges)):

  (file)

Adjective

compatible (plural compatibles)

1. compatible

   Antonym: incompatible

Derived terms

• compatibilité

Descendants

• → Portuguese: compatível
• → Romanian: compatibil

Further reading

• “compatible”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

Galician

Alternative forms

• compatíbel
• compatível (reintegrationist)

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Medieval Latin compatibilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kompaˈtible/ [kom.paˈt̪i.β̞lɪ]
• Rhymes: -ible
• Hyphenation: com‧pa‧ti‧ble

Adjective

compatible m or f (plural compatibles)

1. compatible

Further reading

• “compatible”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2026
• Antón Santamarina, Ernesto X. González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “compatible”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega

Middle English

Etymology

Borrowed from Anglo-Norman compatible, from Medieval Latin compatibilis.

Adjective

compatible

1. compatible; reconcilable

Descendants

• English: compatible

Further reading

• “compatīble, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 21 June 2026.

Middle French

Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin compatibilis.

Adjective

compatible m or f (plural compatibles)

1. compatible

Descendants

• French: compatible
  • → Portuguese: compatível
  • → Romanian: compatibil

References

• Frédéric Godefroy (1880–1902), “compatible”, in Dictionnaire de l’ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IX^e au XV^e siècle […], Paris: F[riedrich] Vieweg; Émile Bouillon, →OCLC.
• compatible on Dictionnaire du Moyen Français (1330–1500) (in French)

Old French

Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin compatibilis.

Adjective

compatible m (feminine compatible)

1. (Anglo-Norman) compatible

Descendants

• → Middle English: compatible
  • English: compatible

References

• “compatible”, in Anglo-Norman Dictionary, 2nd edition, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion: Aberystwyth University, 2001–2026.

Spanish

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Medieval Latin compatibilis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kompaˈtible/ [kõm.paˈt̪i.β̞le]
• Rhymes: -ible
• Syllabification: com‧pa‧ti‧ble

Adjective

compatible m or f (masculine and feminine plural compatibles)

1. compatible

   Antonym: incompatible

Derived terms

• compatibilidad
• compatibilizar

Further reading

• “compatible”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025