questionable

adjective

ques·tion·able ˈkwes-chə-nə-bəl

ˈkwesh-,

in rapid speech ˈkwesh-nə-

Synonyms of questionable next

obsolete : inviting inquiry

obsolete : liable to judicial inquiry or action

: affording reason for being doubted, questioned, or challenged : not certain or exact : problematic

milk of questionable purity

a questionable decision

: attended by well-grounded suspicions of being immoral, crude, false, or unsound : dubious

questionable motives

questionableness noun

questionably

ˈkwes-chə-nə-blē

ˈkwesh-

in rapid speech ˈkwesh-nə-

adverb

Choose the Right Synonym for questionable

doubtful, dubious, problematic, questionable mean not affording assurance of the worth, soundness, or certainty of something.

doubtful implies little more than a lack of conviction or certainty.

doubtful about whether I said the right thing

dubious stresses suspicion, mistrust, or hesitation.

dubious about the practicality of the scheme

problematic applies especially to things whose existence, meaning, fulfillment, or realization is highly uncertain.

whether the project will ever be finished is problematic

questionable may imply no more than the existence of doubt but usually suggests that the suspicions are well-grounded.

a man of questionable honesty

Examples of questionable in a Sentence

The truth of the statements was highly questionable. The water available in the village is of questionable quality. a man of questionable character They acquired the money through questionable means. The company is facing a questionable future.

Recent Examples on the Web Justin Nelson, his Democratic opponent, decided to make Paxton’s questionable ethical judgment central to his campaign. —

Rachel Monroe, The New Yorker, 17 Sep. 2023 Cooks was listed as questionable on the team’s injury report Friday and is dealing with a Grade 1 MCL sprain. —

Sportsday Staff, Dallas News, 17 Sep. 2023 Andrews, who was listed as questionable for the second straight week, was limited in five straight practices before being a full participant Friday. —

C.j. Doon, Baltimore Sun, 17 Sep. 2023 Star edge rusher Joey Bosa (hamstring) traveled with the team to Nashville and remains questionable for the game. —

Jeff Miller, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2023 Wide receiver Amari Cooper is questionable for the game with a groin injury suffered in practice on Friday. —

Dan Labbe, cleveland, 16 Sep. 2023 The addition of Winovich to the active roster is likely related to the news that Dolphins edge rusher Jaelan Phillips injured his back on Friday, and is currently listed as questionable for Sunday’s game. —

Christopher Price, BostonGlobe.com, 16 Sep. 2023 The myth has persisted, though even Wright admits that its accuracy is questionable. —

Christopher Parker, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Sep. 2023 This week, state officials decided to create a list of books with questionable content and circulate the list to individual libraries. —

Tcrain, al, 14 Sep. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'questionable.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.