debatable

adjective de·bat·able \ di-ˈbā-tə-bəl , dē- \

|Updated on: 29 Jul 2018

Examples: debatable in a Sentence

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

Whether the Constitution allows indictment of a sitting President is debatable.

— salvador rizzo, Washington Post, "Does Brett Kavanaugh think the president is immune from criminal charges?," 11 July 2018
Whether those uses could sustain Yerkes is debatable.

— ted gregory, chicagotribune.com, "U. of C.'s Yerkes Observatory has been a cherished icon for decades. Now it's for sale, and people are nervous," 5 July 2018
As for teaming up with some of our allies, that might be debatable.

— Fox News, "Gov. Rauner: I'm concerned about a tariff war," 27 June 2018
What is less debatable is that the failures of 2017, in which Harvey, Matz, Zack Wheeler and Robert Gsellman were hurt and ineffective (and Syndergaard was just hurt), locked the Mets into a pitching-heavy path for good.

— jack dickey, SI.com, "The New York Mets Could Try to Rebuild, But Why Would We Trust Them to Do That?," 11 June 2018
Whether more centrists are being elected is debatable.

— george skelton, latimes.com, "Give California’s top-two primary some more time, and if it doesn’t get better, junk it," 11 June 2018
But whether that loyalty is misplaced is debatable.

— paul sullivan, chicagotribune.com, "White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu comfortable playing in the shadows," 31 May 2018
Whether or not the DRC is truly seeing the disease much more than some of its neighbors is debatable, Rollins says.

— dina fine maron, Scientific American, "Why Does Ebola Keep Showing Up in the Democratic Republic of the Congo?," 11 May 2018
At least a dentist is a doctor, but whether or not that qualifies them to smooth your crow’s-feet or inflate your lips is debatable.

— horacio salinas, Allure, "Botox & Lip Injection Horror Stories That Prove You Should Always See a Board-Certified Dermatologist," 21 Mar. 2018

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.