Suitable for means right or appropriate for something or someone: suitable for children, a room suitable for meetings. It sounds neutral and slightly formal: you see it in notices, instructions and course descriptions. The negative is not suitable for or unsuitable for.
Want to remember suitable for?
Write a sentence — we'll show the mistakes right away and suggest how to say it more naturally.
The check is taking longer than usual. Your feedback will appear here automatically.
suitable for + person/purpose; suitable for + -ing; not suitable / unsuitable for
- This hiking route is suitable for beginners, but you'll need good shoes.
- We need a room suitable for twenty people, with a projector.
- The flat is cheap, but it isn't suitable for a family with a big dog.
What changed
First versionThis colour is really suitable for you!
RevisionThis colour really suits you!
When something looks good on someone, suitable can seem like the right word. But suitable for judges whether something fits a task or conditions, like in an instruction manual. For clothes, colours and haircuts that look good on someone, the verb is suit: This colour really suits you.
For a meeting time or place, people usually say convenient: Is 3 pm convenient for you? Suitable would be understood in that question too, but it sounds more formal, like a business email.
Your turn
This film has some violent scenes, so it isn't ___ for young children.
Show the answer
suitable — The question is whether children can watch the film, which is about suitability, so it's suitable. Convenient is about time or place being easy for someone, and it has nothing to do with violent scenes.
Recommend a course, book or app. Say who it's suitable for, who it isn't suitable for, and why.
This grammar book is suitable for B1 students, but it isn't suitable for complete beginners because there are no translations.
Learn to use new words without mistakes
Write phrases with the words you are learning. LetsWords shows mistakes in usage and grammar, suggests corrections and explains them, and review helps the words stick.