definitions

questionable

[ kwes-chuh-nuh-buhl ]
/ ˈkwɛs tʃə nə bəl /
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR questionable ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

of doubtful propriety, honesty, morality, respectability, etc.: questionable activities; in questionable taste.
open to question or dispute; doubtful or uncertain: a statement of questionable accuracy.
open to question as to being of the nature or value suggested: a questionable privilege.

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RELATED WORDS

uncertainty, question, mistrust, dubiousness, indecision, suspicion, dubiety, skepticism, doubtfulness

Nearby words

question master, question of fact, question of law, question period, question time, questionable, questionary, questioner, questioning, questioningly, questionless

Origin of questionable

First recorded in 1580–90; question + -able
Related formsques·tion·a·ble·ness, ques·tion·a·bil·i·ty, nounques·tion·a·bly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for questionability

questionable

/ (ˈkwɛstʃənəbəl) /

adjective

(esp of a person's morality or honesty) admitting of some doubt; dubious
of disputable value or authoritya questionable text
Derived Formsquestionableness or questionability, nounquestionably, adverb
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 questionability

questionable

adj.

1580s, "that may be interrogated;" c.1600, "open to dispute, doubtful," from question (v.) + -able. Deprecatory sense of "dubious in character" is attested from 1806. Related: Questionably.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper