1
as in questionable
open to question or dispute
it's always debatable which college football team is really number one, since there's more than one ranking system
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in disputable
giving good reason for being doubted, questioned, or challenged
the debatable wisdom of going back for another helping from the buffet
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of debatable
The game's overall quality is debatable; what isn't is its profound impact on pro football.
—
Jim Reineking, USA Today, 29 Aug. 2025
Accordingly, any debatable calls, Tiffany decided, will be decided by way of rock, paper, scissors.
—Kansas City Star, 29 Aug. 2025
The Miami mayor scoffed that salami belonged on pizza (debatable).
—Carlos Frías, Bon Appetit Magazine, 19 Aug. 2025
Perhaps Kendall Sheffield, but that’s debatable.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 17 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for debatable
Jim Reineking, USA Today, 29 Aug. 2025
Accordingly, any debatable calls, Tiffany decided, will be decided by way of rock, paper, scissors.
—Kansas City Star, 29 Aug. 2025
The Miami mayor scoffed that salami belonged on pizza (debatable).
—Carlos Frías, Bon Appetit Magazine, 19 Aug. 2025
Perhaps Kendall Sheffield, but that’s debatable.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 17 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for debatable
Recent Examples of Synonyms for debatable
Adjective
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After making his return Sunday from a two-week absence due to a toe injury, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy will be questionable to play Thursday night against the Los Angeles Rams because of toe soreness, general manager John Lynch said Tuesday morning.—
The Athletic Staff,
New York Times,
30 Sep. 2025
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Everyone else on our team is questionable.—
Hunter Bailey,
Charlotte Observer,
30 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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That time, a very disputable foul denied him.—
Matt Woosnam,
New York Times,
18 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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While that’s arguable, what is not is that productivity in the U.K. has been remarkably flat for roughly 20 years.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
22 Sep. 2025
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Whether a cell in 1598 played a part in conceiving of the scrawny, hobbled hidalgo with a cardboard visor and a bent lance is arguable, but Cervantes’ far more traumatic enslavement from 1571 until 1576 must have formed his intimate comprehension of the difference between freedom and servitude.—
Ed Simon
September 22,
Literary Hub,
22 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Perhaps Musk didn’t care whether a dubious video accusing Disney World employees of being pedophiles was true.—
Jacob Silverman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Oct. 2025
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When Kimberly and her family leave the New Jersey suburbs under dubious circumstances, Kimberly reevaluates her life while dealing with her hypochondriac mother, alcoholic father, scam-artist aunt, her own mortality and her first love.—
Meredith G. White,
AZCentral.com,
1 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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But it’s proved to be especially problematic at a time when the typical student body is growing academically weaker.—
Joshua Rothman,
New Yorker,
30 Sep. 2025
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No two players better personified Houston’s problematic response to injuries than Alvarez and center fielder Jake Meyers, who injured himself on July 9 while running out to his position before first pitch.—
Chandler Rome,
New York Times,
30 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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But some scholars are doubtful that’s routinely happening.—
Lauren Sausser,
Miami Herald,
30 Sep. 2025
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Spring conducted two major studies that showed doubtful employers that Spring’s service worked—and could save them money.—
Alice Park,
Time,
30 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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According to Japan's Foreign Ministry, North Korea has been spotted conducting suspicious transfers of goods between ships in the East China Sea, which is bordered by China, the Korean Peninsula, Japan and Taiwan.—
Ryan Chan,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Oct. 2025
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An administrative hearing officer kicked her off the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) regardless, based solely on the allegedly suspicious shopping pattern.—
Orianna Rosa Royle,
Fortune,
30 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Debatable.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/debatable. Accessed 7 Oct. 2025.
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