Debatable — De*bat a*ble, a. [Cf. OF. debatable. See {Debate}.] Liable to be debated; disputable; subject to controversy or contention; open to question or dispute; as, a debatable question. [1913 Webster] {The Debatable Land} or {or Ground}, a tract of land … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
debatable — I adjective admitting of doubt, ambiguous, arguable, at issue, baffling, capable of being debated, changeable, confutable, conjecturable, conjectural, contentious, contestable, controversial, controvertible, cryptic, deniable, disposed to… … Law dictionary
debatable — (adj.) 1530s (late 15c. in Anglo Latin), from O.Fr. debatable (Mod.Fr. débattable), from debatre (see DEBATE (Cf. debate)). Earliest references were to lands claimed by two nations; general sense is from 1580s … Etymology dictionary
debatable — is spelt this way, not debateable. See able, ible … Modern English usage
debatable — [adj] controversial arguable, between rock and hard place*, between sixes and sevens*, betwixt and between*, bone of contention*, borderline, chancy*, contestable, disputable, doubtful, dubious, iffy*, in dispute, moot, mootable*, open to… … New thesaurus
debatable — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ open to discussion or argument … English terms dictionary
debatable — [dē bāt′ə bəl, dibāt′ə bəl] adj. 1. lending itself to formal debate; having strong points on both sides 2. that can be questioned or disputed 3. in dispute, as land claimed by two countries … English World dictionary
debatable — de|bat|a|ble [dıˈbeıtəbəl] adj things that are debatable are not certain because people have different opinions about them ▪ a debatable point it is debatable whether/how etc ▪ It s debatable whether this book is as good as her last. ▪ Whether… … Dictionary of contemporary English
debatable — de|bat|a|ble [ dı beıtəbl ] adjective something that is debatable is not certain because it is possible for people to have different opinions about it: a debatable point/issue/assertion/claim it is debatable whether: It is debatable whether the… … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
debatable — [[t]dɪbe͟ɪtəb(ə)l[/t]] ADJ GRADED: usu v link ADJ, oft it v link ADJ wh If you say that something is debatable, you mean that it is not certain. Whether they would have actually used their submarines to attack shipping is highly debatable... It… … English dictionary
debatable — UK [dɪˈbeɪtəb(ə)l] / US adjective something that is debatable is not certain because it is possible for people to have different opinions about it a debatable point/issue/assertion/claim it is debatable whether: It is debatable whether the plan… … English dictionary
