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 — 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