debatable

adjective de·bat·able \ 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

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debatably

play \-blē\ adverb

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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 of debatable from the Web

The Lions were called for a late hit out of bounds on kickoff coverage following their first touchdown and had a debatable pass interference penalty called later on the same drive.

— joe juliano, Philly.com, "Five observations from Penn State's loss to Michigan State," 5 Nov. 2017
President Trump makes two arguments in opposition to immigration, both debatable.

— philip bump, Washington Post, "The U.K. agency that compiled the data in Trump’s terrorism tweet disagrees with his assessment," 20 Oct. 2017
But making the connection between people dying and lack of aid and food and water here, that's probably a debatable point.

— NBC News, "Meet the Press - October 1, 2017," 1 Oct. 2017
There are debatable military and diplomatic reasons for these exclusions, but an order aimed at jihad that doesn’t even sweep in all relevant jihadists hotbeds is hardly evidence that the true purpose of this order is anti-Muslim.

— david french, National Review, "Once Again, Judges Defy the Law to Defy Trump," 18 Oct. 2017
How much Syria’s agricultural crisis was to blame for the outbreak of war is debatable.

— somini sengupta, New York Times, "How a Seed Bank, Almost Lost in Syria’s War, Could Help Feed a Warming Planet," 13 Oct. 2017
Though the results are debatable, the ARRA appears to have helped save jobs.

— sean williams, USA TODAY, "Tax reform: A recent history shows it doesn't always go as planned," 1 Nov. 2017
Whether there was a correlation to their performance against the Cardinals is debatable, but there is no arguing the result.

— gary klein, latimes.com, "What we learned in the Rams' 33-0 victory over the Arizona Cardinals," 23 Oct. 2017
In the age of Facebook and Twitter, the impact of TV political ads has become debatable.

— jason williams, Cincinnati.com, "PX: 'Mane Mann'? Kids, wife and poofy white hair also star in Vice Mayor's new TV ad," 17 Oct. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'debatable.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.