heritable
adjective
her·i·ta·ble
ˈher-ə-tə-bəl 
ˈhe-rə-
1
: capable of being inherited or of passing by inheritance
2
Synonyms
Examples of heritable in a Sentence
heritable characteristics like skin and eye and hair color
Recent Examples on the Web
The trait appears to be as heritable as many other traits that breeders routinely select for, and breeders have already begun incorporating methane production into their selection criteria for Canadian dairy cattle, Irish beef cattle, and New Zealand sheep.
—
Bob Holmes, Ars Technica, 20 June 2024
Some heritable eye diseases may be caused by gut bacteria.
—Emily Harnett, Harper's Magazine, 26 Apr. 2024
She’s found that most behaviors are intermediately heritable, meaning that that, yes, genes matter, but genetics is often less than half the picture.
—Avery Hurt, Discover Magazine, 9 Apr. 2024
There's also some evidence that spatial cognition skills in pheasants are weakly heritable, suggesting that predation could apply an evolutionary selection to this trait.
—John Timmer, Ars Technica, 27 Jan. 2023
See all Example Sentences for heritable 
Bob Holmes, Ars Technica, 20 June 2024
Some heritable eye diseases may be caused by gut bacteria.
—Emily Harnett, Harper's Magazine, 26 Apr. 2024
She’s found that most behaviors are intermediately heritable, meaning that that, yes, genes matter, but genetics is often less than half the picture.
—Avery Hurt, Discover Magazine, 9 Apr. 2024
There's also some evidence that spatial cognition skills in pheasants are weakly heritable, suggesting that predation could apply an evolutionary selection to this trait.
—John Timmer, Ars Technica, 27 Jan. 2023
See all Example Sentences for heritable
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'heritable.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near heritable
Cite this Entry
“Heritable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/heritable. Accessed 4 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
heritable
adjective
her·i·ta·ble
ˈher-ət-ə-bəl
: capable of being inherited : hereditary
heritable differences in structure
Medical Definition
heritable
adjective
her·i·ta·ble
ˈher-ət-ə-bəl
: hereditary
one of several heritable childhood cancers—W. K. Cavenee et al.
W. K. Cavenee et al.Legal Definition
heritable
adjective
her·i·ta·ble
ˈher-ə-tə-bəl
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