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> Also, "uninstallable" means "cannot be installed" Nope. In writing, it's technically ambiguous -- it could mean both "can't be installed" or "can't be uninst
by plq 4y ago
> Also, "uninstallable" means "cannot be installed"
Nope. In writing, it's technically ambiguous -- it could mean both "can't be installed" or "can't be uninstalled" but to me it means "can't be uninstalled". In spoken language, it depends how you stress the first syllable and both could be used, I guess.
That's why if you want to denote the installability of something, you should use the nonambiguous installable-noninstallable pair and leave the word "uninstallable" for the "can't be uninstalled" meaning. AFAICT, whether you should spell it as "non-installable" or "noninstallable" (note the hyphen) is up to you.
Again, in my personal experience, uninstallable definitely means 2 in [1]: "uninstall-able". Pretty sure I never saw that word used as "un-installable".
[1]: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/uninstallable https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/uninstallable
- swashbuck1r 4y agoThe ambiguous uninstallable meanings would be: * cannot be installed * can be uninstalled The Wikipedia link you posted agrees with that interpretation. I think “can’t be uninstalled” would be “non-uninstallable”.
- plq 4y agoAh yes, of course. A "mental" typo from my part, I guess.
- Nevermark 4y agoYou could use “uninstall-able”. This makes it clear (or at least clearer) that “able” is the modifying suffix to the root concept “uninstall”.