debatable

adjective

de·​bat·​able di-ˈbā-tə-bəl 

dē-

1

: claimed by more than one country

debatable border territory

2

a

: open to dispute : questionable

the debatable wisdom of his advice

b

: open to debate

3

: capable of being debated

debatably

di-ˈbā-tə-blē 

dē-

adverb

Synonyms

• arguable
• controvertible
• disputable
• doubtable
• doubtful
• issuable
• moot
• negotiable
• questionable

Examples of debatable in a Sentence

it's always debatable which college football team is really number one, since there's more than one ranking system

the debatable wisdom of going back for another helping from the buffet

Recent Examples on the Web

The importance of the debates in 2000 is itself debatable, as was the importance of these events in previous cycles. —Ron Elving, NPR, 7 Sep. 2024

Herbal remedies in traditional Chinese medicine have been around for thousands of years, though their efficacy is debatable. —Deborah Vankin, Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2024

Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris is expected to announce plans to fight food inflation with a federal ban on price gouging on groceries, but how much this would help Americans is debatable, economists say. —Medora Lee, USA TODAY, 16 Aug. 2024

Whether something needs to be done about this situation at all on a policy level is debatable. —Kamaron McNair, CNBC, 16 Aug. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1536, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

debatable

adjective

de·​bat·​able di-ˈbāt-ə-bəl 

: open to question or dispute

a debatable decision

debatably

-blē 

adverb