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 of debatable

• questionable
• disputable
• arguable

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

Hynes then made some debatable decisions in the second round, including starting Filip Gustavsson in Game 2. — Michael Russo, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2026

Democracy itself has become debatable, especially among young people. — Joe Daniels, Time, 11 Sep. 2026

Whether to call these records constitutions is debatable; some are more like treaties; others are more like criminal codes. — Literary Hub, 10 Sep. 2026

Gray Interiors Named Most Controversial Home Trend Topping the list for most controversial design trends is the ever-debatable millennial gray. — Claire Hoppe Norgaard, Better Homes & Gardens, 31 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1536, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for debatable

• datable
• inflatable
• locatable
• rotatable
• titratable
• translatable
• untranslatable

Kids Definition

debatable

adjective

de·​bat·​able di-ˈbāt-ə-bəl 

: open to question or dispute

a debatable decision

debatably

-blē 

adverb