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

While the films’ impact on government policy and/or public opinion is debatable, movies large and small have been at the forefront of some of the 21st century’s most difficult conversations. —David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 25 June 2025

How much coffee per day leads to healthy aging is debatable. —Renée Onque, CNBC, 20 June 2025

The Canucks have maybe three top-line calibre forwards locked up for next season (Jake DeBrusk, Elias Pettersson and Conor Garland), and even that evaluation is debatable. —Thomas Drance, New York Times, 19 June 2025

While his perspective on European exceptionalism may be debatable, his timing isn't. —Charles Towers-Clark, Forbes.com, 13 June 2025

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