Suit vs. Suitable — What's the Difference?
By Tayyaba Rehman & Maham Liaqat — Updated on April 2, 2024
A suit is a set of garments, typically a jacket and trousers or skirt, made from the same fabric, while suitable refers to something that meets the requirements or fits the circumstances.
Difference Between Suit and Suitable
Table of Contents
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Key Differences
A suit typically refers to a formal or semi-formal set of clothing worn by men and women, often consisting of a jacket and matching trousers or skirt, designed for professional or formal occasions. The term "suit" can also extend to any matching set of clothes that are intended to be worn together, embodying a certain level of formality and coherence in appearance. On the other hand, suitable is an adjective describing the appropriateness or adequacy of something in relation to its intended purpose, context, or conditions. It denotes compatibility or fitness, suggesting that the object or choice in question meets the necessary criteria or standards required for a specific situation.
While a suit is a tangible item of clothing, suitable is a qualitative assessment used to describe the compatibility of various things, including actions, decisions, and physical objects, with specific requirements or conditions. For example, a suit might be deemed suitable for a job interview, indicating that it meets the social and professional criteria expected for such an occasion. This distinction highlights the difference between a physical item and the evaluative criteria applied to determine its appropriateness for certain contexts.
The concept of suitability extends beyond clothing, applying to a wide range of scenarios where judgment is made about the appropriateness of something based on predefined standards or expectations. For instance, while a specific suit may be suitable for formal events, other items, such as a venue, a piece of equipment, or even a course of action, can also be assessed for their suitability in various contexts. This adaptability of the term "suitable" makes it a versatile descriptor in the English language.
Choosing a suit involves considering various factors such as the fit, fabric, color, and style, ensuring that it meets the wearer’s needs and preferences for specific occasions. Conversely, determining if something is suitable requires evaluating its qualities or characteristics against the requirements or expectations of a particular situation or purpose. This evaluation process is subjective and can vary widely depending on individual preferences, cultural norms, and specific situational demands.
While a suit is a specific type of clothing designed for certain occasions, the concept of suitability is a broader evaluative criterion that applies to a wide range of objects, actions, and decisions, assessing their appropriateness or adequacy in relation to specific requirements or contexts.
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Comparison Chart
Definition
A set of garments made from the same fabric, typically including a jacket and trousers or skirt.
Adjective describing something that meets the requirements or fits the circumstances.
Context
Clothing, specifically formal or professional attire.
Broad, applies to objects, actions, decisions, and conditions.
Nature
Tangible item of clothing.
Qualitative assessment of compatibility or appropriateness.
Criteria
Fit, fabric, color, style.
Compatibility, adequacy, appropriateness for specific situations.
Application
Specific to clothing.
Versatile, applicable to a wide range of scenarios beyond clothing.
Compare with Definitions
Suit
A formal set of clothes for special occasions.
He wore a navy blue suit to the wedding.
Suitable
Meeting the required conditions.
They found a candidate suitable for the job.
Suit
Matching garments designed to be worn together.
Her business suit was tailored perfectly.
Suitable
Adequate for achieving a desired result.
The software was suitable for their project needs.
Suit
Clothing indicating professionalism.
Interviews typically require wearing a suit.
Suitable
Appropriate for a specific purpose.
The venue was suitable for the corporate event.
Suit
Symbol of formality in attire.
Graduations often see attendees in suits.
Suitable
Compatible with the circumstances.
The movie is suitable for all ages.
Suit
A set consisting of jacket and trousers or skirt.
The suit included a vest for added style.
Suitable
Reflecting appropriateness in context.
The theme was suitable for the celebration.
Suit
A set of outer clothes made of the same fabric and designed to be worn together, typically consisting of a jacket and trousers or a jacket and skirt
A pinstriped suit
Suitable
Appropriate to a purpose or an occasion.
Suit
Any of the sets into which a pack of playing cards is divided (in conventional packs comprising spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs).
Suitable
Having sufficient or the required properties for a certain purpose or task; appropriate to a certain occasion.
Suit
A lawsuit.
Suitable
Capable of suiting; fitting; accordant; proper; becoming; agreeable; adapted; as, ornaments suitable to one's station; language suitable for the subject.
Suit
The process of trying to win a woman's affection with a view to marriage
He could not compete with John in Marian's eyes and his suit came to nothing
Suitable
Suitable for the desired purpose;
Is this a suitable dress for the office?
Suit
A complete set of sails required for a ship or for a set of spars
They went ashore and changed to another suit of sails
Suitable
Meant or adapted for an occasion or use;
A tractor suitable (or fit) for heavy duty
Not an appropriate (or fit) time for flippancy
Suit
Be convenient for or acceptable to
The flat has two bedrooms—if it suits, you can have one of them
What time would suit you?
Suitable
Appropriate for a condition or occasion;
Everything in its proper place
The right man for the job
She is not suitable for the position
Suit
Enhance the features, figure, or character of (someone)
The dress didn't suit her
Suitable
Worthy of being chosen especially as a spouse;
The parents found the girl suitable for their son
Suit
Put on clothes, especially for a particular activity
I suited up and entered the water
Suit
A set of matching outer garments, especially one consisting of a coat with trousers or a skirt, often worn on formal occasions.
Suit
(Slang)A person, especially an executive, who wears one of these garments at work.
Suit
An outfit worn for a special activity
A diving suit.
A running suit.
Suit
A group of things used together; a set or collection
A suit of sails.
A suit of tools.
Suit
(Games)Any of the four sets of 13 playing cards (clubs, diamonds, hearts, and spades) in a standard deck, the members of which bear the same marks.
Suit
Attendance required of a vassal at his feudal lord's court or manor.
Suit
(Law)A lawsuit.
Suit
The act or an instance of courting a woman; courtship
She was inclined to accept his suit.
Suit
To meet the requirements of; fit
This candidate does not suit our qualifications.
Suit
To make appropriate or suitable; adapt
Builders who suit the house to the owner's specifications.
Suit
To be appropriate for; befit
A color that suits you.
Suit
To please; satisfy
A choice that suits us all.
Suit
To provide with clothing; dress
The NCOs suited the recruits in green uniforms.
Suit
To be suitable or acceptable.
Suit
To be in accord; agree or match.
Suit
A set of clothes to be worn together, now especially a man's matching jacket and trousers (also business suit or lounge suit), or a similar outfit for a woman.
Nick hired a navy-blue suit for the wedding.
Suit
(by extension) A garment or set of garments suitable and/or required for a given task or activity: space suit, boiler suit, protective suit, swimsuit.
Suit
A person who wears matching jacket and trousers, especially a boss or a supervisor.
Be sure to keep your nose to the grindstone today; the suits are making a "surprise" visit to this department.
Suit
A full set of armour.
Suit
(legal) The attempt to gain an end by legal process; a process instituted in a court of law for the recovery of a right or claim; a lawsuit.
If you take my advice, you'll file a suit against him immediately.
Suit
Petition, request, entreaty.
Suit
The act of following or pursuing; pursuit, chase.
Suit
Pursuit of a love-interest; wooing, courtship.
Suit
(obsolete) The act of suing; the pursuit of a particular object or goal.
Suit
The full set of sails required for a ship.
Suit
(card games) Each of the sets of a pack of cards distinguished by color and/or specific emblems, such as the spades, hearts, diamonds, or clubs of traditional Anglo, Hispanic, and French playing cards.
Suit
(obsolete) Regular order; succession.
Every five and thirty years the same kind and suit of weather comes again.
Suit
(archaic) A company of attendants or followers; a retinue.
Suit
(archaic) A group of similar or related objects or items considered as a whole; a suite (of rooms etc.)
Suit
(transitive) To make proper or suitable; to adapt or fit.
Suit
To be suitable or apt for one's image.
The ripped jeans didn't suit her elegant image.
That new top suits you. Where did you buy it?
Suit
(transitive) To be appropriate or apt for.
The nickname "Bullet" suits her, since she is a fast runner.
Suit
To dress; to clothe.
Suit
To please; to make content; to fit one's taste.
He is well suited with his place.
My new job suits me, as I work fewer hours and don't have to commute so much.
Suit
(intransitive) To agree; to be fitted; to correspond (usually followed by to, archaically also followed by with)
Suit
The act of following or pursuing, as game; pursuit.
Suit
The act of suing; the process by which one endeavors to gain an end or an object; an attempt to attain a certain result; pursuit; endeavor.
Thenceforth the suit of earthly conquest shone.
Suit
The act of wooing in love; the solicitation of a woman in marriage; courtship.
Rebate your loves, each rival suit suspend,Till this funereal web my labors end.
Suit
The attempt to gain an end by legal process; an action or process for the recovery of a right or claim; legal application to a court for justice; prosecution of right before any tribunal; as, a civil suit; a criminal suit; a suit in chancery.
I arrest thee at the suit of Count Orsino.
In England the several suits, or remedial instruments of justice, are distinguished into three kinds - actions personal, real, and mixed.
Suit
That which follows as a retinue; a company of attendants or followers; the assembly of persons who attend upon a prince, magistrate, or other person of distinction; - often written suite, and pronounced swēt.
Suit
Things that follow in a series or succession; the individual objects, collectively considered, which constitute a series, as of rooms, buildings, compositions, etc.; - often written suite, and pronounced swēt.
Suit
A number of things used together, and generally necessary to be united in order to answer their purpose; a number of things ordinarily classed or used together; a set; as, a suit of curtains; a suit of armor; a suit of clothes; a three-piece business suit.
Suit
One of the four sets of cards which constitute a pack; - each set consisting of thirteen cards bearing a particular emblem, as hearts, spades, clubs, or diamonds; also, the members of each such suit held by a player in certain games, such as bridge; as, hearts were her long suit.
To deal and shuffle, to divide and sortHer mingled suits and sequences.
Suit
Regular order; succession.
Every five and thirty years the same kind and suit of weather comes again.
Suit
Someone who dresses in a business suit, as contrasted with more informal attire;
Suit
To fit; to adapt; to make proper or suitable; as, to suit the action to the word.
Suit
To be fitted to; to accord with; to become; to befit.
Ill suits his cloth the praise of railing well.
Raise her notes to that sublime degreeWhich suits song of piety and thee.
Suit
To dress; to clothe.
So went he suited to his watery tomb.
Suit
To please; to make content; as, he is well suited with his place; to suit one's taste.
Suit
To agree; to accord; to be fitted; to correspond; - usually followed by with or to.
The place itself was suiting to his care.
Give me not an officeThat suits with me so ill.
Suit
A comprehensive term for any proceeding in a court of law whereby an individual seeks a legal remedy;
The family brought suit against the landlord
Suit
A set of garments (usually including a jacket and trousers or skirt) for outerwear all of the same fabric and color;
They buried him in his best suit
Suit
Playing card in any of four sets of 13 cards in a pack; each set has its own symbol and color;
A flush is five cards in the same suit
In bridge you must follow suit
What suit is trumps?
Suit
A businessman dressed in a business suit;
All the suits care about is the bottom line
Suit
A man's courting of a woman; seeking the affections of a woman (usually with the hope of marriage);
Its was a brief and intense courtship
Suit
A petition or appeal made to a person of superior status or rank
Suit
Be agreeable or acceptable to;
This suits my needs
Suit
Be agreeable or acceptable;
This time suits me
Suit
Accord or comport with;
This kind of behavior does not suit a young woman!
Suit
Enhance the appearance of;
Mourning becomes Electra
This behavior doesn't suit you!
Common Curiosities
How do I choose a suitable outfit?
Choosing a suitable outfit involves considering the occasion, your personal style, the expected social norms, and the comfort and appropriateness of the clothing.
What makes a suit formal?
A suit becomes formal through its design, fabric, and the context in which it is worn, often characterized by darker colors and tailored fitting.
Is suitability subjective?
Yes, what is considered suitable can vary greatly between individuals, cultures, and situations, reflecting personal and societal standards.
Can the same suit be suitable for different occasions?
Yes, the same suit can be adapted to various occasions with different accessories, shirts, and shoes to fit the appropriateness of each event.
Can a suit be casual?
Yes, suits can be styled casually, depending on the fabric, color, and how it is accessorized and combined with other garments.
Why is suitability important in decision-making?
Suitability ensures that choices are appropriate and effective for the intended purpose, leading to better outcomes and satisfaction.
What factors determine if something is suitable?
Factors include the requirements of the situation, personal preferences, social norms, and the specific goals or outcomes desired.
How do trends affect what is considered a suitable suit?
Fashion trends can influence the styles, colors, and designs of suits considered suitable for specific occasions or professional environments.
How can the suitability of a decision be assessed?
The suitability of a decision can be assessed by evaluating its potential outcomes against the desired objectives and any applicable constraints or criteria.
How does culture influence what is considered a suitable attire?
Cultural norms and values significantly influence what is considered appropriate attire, varying widely across different societies.
Can an item be suitable but not preferred?
Yes, an item can meet the necessary criteria for a situation yet not be preferred due to personal taste or other non-critical factors.
Can environmental factors affect the suitability of clothing?
Yes, environmental factors like weather, terrain, and outdoor conditions greatly influence the suitability of clothing choices.
Does suitability vary over time?
Yes, what is considered suitable can change over time with shifts in social norms, cultural values, and technological advancements.
Is there a universal standard for what makes something suitable?
No, there is no universal standard for suitability, as it is context-dependent and influenced by a variety of subjective factors.
What role does functionality play in determining suitability?
Functionality is key in determining suitability, as items must not only fit the situation aesthetically but also serve the required purpose effectively.
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Written by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.
Co-written by
Maham Liaqat
