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Questionable

Doubtful; not clearly true, reliable, or acceptable; open to question or dispute

adjective

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Imagine This

Imagine a research study with a tiny sample size, poor controls, and cherry-picked data. A reader questions the results, thinking: is this finding really valid or just a fluke worth doubt?

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Sounds Like

KWES-chuh-nuh-buhl

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Looks Like

question + able

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Remember This

Questionable can imply doubt about truth or reliability, and in some contexts it can also hint at suspicious or dubious behavior. The root idea is that something invites questioning.

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Other Forms

questionabilitynoun

questionablyadverb

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Connect With

doubtful, dubious, debatable, suspect, uncertain

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Note

Be careful not to confuse with 'unclear' or 'suspect' in all contexts; use 'questionable' when you want to flag doubt or controversy, rather than outright falseness. In formal writing, it often precedes a qualifier like 'at best' or 'due to limited evidence.'

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Study Deeper

Examples

The study's conclusions are questionable because of the small sample size.
Her alibi sounded questionable to the investigators given the lack of corroborating evidence.

Synonyms

doubtfuldubioussuspectdebatable

Antonyms

certainundoubtedunquestionable

Etymology

From Middle English questionable, Old French questionable, from Latin quaestion- (a seeking, inquiry) / quaestio, from quaerere (to seek, ask); the suffix -able denotes 'capable of.'

Mnemonic

Questionable = question + able. If something is able to be questioned, its truth or reliability is in doubt.