释义 |
▪ I. quantifiable, a.|ˈkwɒntɪˌfaɪəb(ə)l| [f. quantify v. + -able.] That may be conceived or treated as a quantity; that may be measured with regard to quantity.
1883A. Barratt Phys. Metempiric p. xxv, Those mutual relations of conscious centres which are measurable and quantifiable. 1893Athenæum 11 Nov. 667/2 It is the latter kind only [of feeling] which is immediately and necessarily quantifiable. 1953D. Riesman in Amer. Scholar XXIII. 24 The quantifiable measure of longevity. 1966J. Ellis in C. E. Bazell In Memory of J. R. Firth 80 Both phonological and formal meaning correspond to the information of information theory in being dependent on, and quantifiable in terms of, the number of oppositions in the given system. 1967Times Rev. Industry July 29/1 A first-class service with quantifiable savings in the company's own accounts department is the best possible selling point. 1972Daily Tel. 6 Apr. 21/4 What we wanted were not quantifiable results but actual feelings. 1974Sci. Amer. May 43/1 Reconstruction, redevelopment and the redesign of approach roads and internal streets are destroying the evidence of the city's past at a quantifiable rate. ▪ II. ˈquantifiable, n. Linguistics. [f. the adj.] = mass noun s.v. mass n.2 10 d.
1957College English XVIII. 351/1 These are the quantifiables, such as furniture and milk and news. 1961R. B. Long Sentence & its Parts ii. 39 Quantifiables such as courage, fun, pneumonia, milk, spaghetti, machinery, and furniture are not made plural, though it is true that some quantifiables have pluralizer status also. |