debatable

[ dih-bey-tuh-buhl ]

/ dɪˈbeɪ tə bəl /

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adjective

open to question; in dispute; doubtful: Whether or not he is qualified for the job is debatable.

capable of being debated.

Nearby words

Origin of debatable

1425–75; late Middle English < Middle French. See debate, -able

SYNONYMS FOR debatable

1. questionable, dubious, arguable, disputable.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR debatable ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsnon·de·bat·a·ble, adjectiveun·de·bat·a·ble, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for debatable

Though this too is debatable given that 25,000 to 40,000 people a year die of influenza—the vast majority of them unvaccinated.
When You Get the Flu This Winter, You Can Blame Anti-Vaxxers|Kent Sepkowitz|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Some people may have thought that was worth the trade off; That's a debatable point.
Rand Paul Beats Ted Cruz, Saves NSA From ‘Reform’|Tim Mak, Olivia Nuzzi|November 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Whether he would actually want to pay for the changes he calls for is debatable.
The Big, Long, 30-Year Conservative Lie|Monica Potts|August 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Whether history will repeat itself in that regard is debatable.
Dallas’s Bishop Arts District Brings European Flavor To The Texas Heartland|Pete Freedman|July 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Whether these observations actually meant anything substantial is debatable.
Turns Out, a Video of Bison Purportedly Fleeing Yellowstone Is a Hoax|Timothy Lesle|April 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Chinese, Japanese and Malays have traded and warred and treated on the debatable land of Formosa.
Influences of Geographic Environment|Ellen Churchill Semple
It is a debatable question as to whether the parents or the children figuring in this “Miscellany” were the more artificial.
Forgotten Books of the American Nursery|Rosalie V. Halsey
There was no middle or debatable ground, which it could with safety be suffered to occupy.
History of the Origin, Formation, and Adoption of the Constitution of the United States, Vol. 2|George Ticknor Curtis
With the subjugation of Canada, the granting of lands in the debatable ground was resumed.
Vermont|Rowland E. Robinson
Four days since Baron Gaston went upon the debatable land to lay a hound; with him only Gaspar, the huntsman.
God Wills It!|William Stearns Davis

British Dictionary definitions for debatable

debatable

debateable

/ (dɪˈbeɪtəbəl) /

adjective

open to question; disputable

law in dispute, as land or territory to which two parties lay claim

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for debatable

debatable

adj.

1530s (late 15c. in Anglo-Latin), from Old French debatable (Modern French débattable), from debatre (see debate (v.)). Earliest references were to lands claimed by two nations; general sense is from 1580s.

debatable

adjective

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Origin of debatable

Examples from the Web for debatable

debatable

debateable

adjective

debatable