Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Legally transferable to the ownership of another: Capable of being legally transferred or made over to another person, especially regarding rights, property, or interests.
   • Capable of being designated or allotted: Able to be specified, allocated, or attributed to a particular person, purpose, or category.

Examples of Usage

• Adjective:
  • The contract states that the lease is assignable to any new business owner. (The lease can legally be transferred to a new owner.)
  • These software licenses are not assignable without the company's written consent. (The licenses cannot be transferred to another party.)
  • Each team member was given an assignable task for the week. (Each member received a task that could be specifically allocated to them.)

Advanced Usage

• In legal contexts: Often used to describe the nature of contracts, leases, patents, or debts.
  • The court ruled that the patent rights were freely assignable. (The rights to the patent could be legally sold or given to another entity.)
• In project management: Used to describe tasks or resources that can be designated to individuals.
  • The project manager marked all critical bugs as high-priority and assignable to the senior developers. (The bugs were categorized as able to be allocated to specific developers.)

Variants and Related Words

• Assign (verb): To allocate, designate, or transfer legally.
  • The manager will assign new duties tomorrow.
• Assignment (noun): The act of assigning or a task that is assigned.
  • His first assignment was to review the document.
• Assignee (noun): A person to whom a right or property is legally transferred.
  • The assignee received full ownership of the property.

Synonyms

• Transferable: Capable of being moved or conveyed from one place or person to another.
• Conveyable: Able to be transferred, especially property title.
• Allocatable: Capable of being distributed or assigned for a specific purpose.
• Designatable: Able to be specified or appointed.

Antonyms

• Non-transferable: Not able to be transferred to another.
• Inalienable: Unable to be taken away or transferred.

Related Phrases

• Assignable cause (in quality control): A specific, identifiable reason for a defect or variation in a process.
  • The engineer searched for an assignable cause for the machine's failure.
• Freely assignable: Emphasizing that a right or property can be transferred without restriction.
  • The shares were freely assignable, allowing for easy sale.

Adjective

1. legally transferable to the ownership of another
   • negotiable bonds