improvablenessn.
/ˌɪmˈpruːvəblnəs/, U.S. /ᵻmˈpruvəbəlnəs/ = improvability n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > improvement > [noun] > quality of being improvable
improvableness1652
improvability1777
cultivability1881
1652 W. Blith (title) The English Improver Improved... Discovering the Improueableness of all Lands.
1677 R. Gilpin Dæmonol. Sacra iii. ix. 57 He [sc. Satan] hath an expectation that we will..be inclined by..the tendency, or improveableness of the thing or Action, to such evils as are properly consequent to it.
1722 E. Calamy 13 Serm. viii. 232 I propose..To shew its Improveableness to several good and useful Purposes.
1775 J. Priestley Exam. Dr. Reid's Inq. (ed. 2) iv. 238 The improveableness of the faculty of common sense by culture.
1835 Lit. & Theolog. Rev. Mar. 35 The unbounded improveableness of the mind should constantly inspirit him who is climbing the steep ascent to intellectual excellence.
1878 J. Morley Diderot i. 8 Active faith in the improvableness of institutions.
1945 Wisconsin Mag. Hist. 29 111 The improvableness of the American mind.
2006 Petroleum Economist (Nexis) Dec. Previous climate studies, widely accepted though they may have been, got snared in the improvableness of the science.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2015; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1652