debatable

de·bat·able

adjective \di-ˈbā-tə-bəl, dē-\

Definition of DEBATABLE

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

— de·bat·ably \-blē\ adverb

Examples of DEBATABLE

1. <it's always debatable which college football team is really number one, since there's more than one ranking system>
2. <the debatable wisdom of going back for another helping from the buffet>

First Known Use of DEBATABLE

1536

Related to DEBATABLE

Synonyms

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

Antonyms

accomplished, certain, hands-down, inarguable, incontestable, incontrovertible, indisputable, indubitable, irrefragable, positive, questionless, settled, sure, unanswerable, unarguable, unchallengeable, undebatable, undeniable, unquestionable

Related Words

contradictable, refutable; controversial, debated, disputed; dubious, iffy, inconclusive, indecisive, problematic (also problematical), shaky, uncertain; academic (also academical), hypothetical, speculative, theoretical (also theoretic); ambiguous, equivocal

Near Antonyms

irrefutable; definite; unambiguous, unequivocal; absolute, clear, conclusive, decisive; uncontested, undisputed

Rhymes with DEBATABLE

dilatable, inflatable, locatable, relatable, translatable