questionable

English

Alternative forms

• quæstionable (archaic)

Etymology

question +‎ -able

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkwɛst͡ʃənəbl̩/
• Hyphenation: ques‧tio‧nable

Adjective

questionable (comparative more questionable, superlative most questionable)

1. Problematic; open to doubt or challenge.

   It is questionable if the universe is open or closed.

   • 1881, Henry James, The Portrait of a Lady, London: Macmillan, Volume I, Chapter 3, p. 28,^[1]

     A crude, cold rain was falling heavily; the spring-time presented itself as a questionable improvement.

2. Of dubious respectability or morality.

   Tiffiny’s behavior is highly questionable.

   • 1920, Carolyn Wells, Raspberry Jam, Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, Chapter 18, p. 302,^[2]

     […] he had a love of money—a sort of acquisitiveness, that led him into questionable dealings.

3. (obsolete) Inviting questions; inviting inquiry.
   • c. 1600, William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act I, Scene 4,^[3]

     Thou com’st in such a questionable shape

     That I will speak to thee.

Derived terms

• questionability
• questionableness
• questionably
• unquestionability
• unquestionable
• unquestionableness
• unquestionably

 

Translations

problematic; open to doubt or challenge

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 可疑的 (zh) (kěyí de)

• Danish: tvivlsom
• Dutch: twijfelachtig (nl)
• Finnish: kyseenalainen (fi)
• French: discutable (fr)
• German: fragwürdig (de)
• Greek: αμφισβητήσιμος (el) (amfisvitísimos)

• Japanese: 疑わしい (うたがわしい, utagawashii)
• Persian: سؤال‌برانگیز‎ (so'âl-bar-angiz)
• Polish: wątpliwy (pl) m, sporny (pl) m, kontrowersyjny (pl) m
• Portuguese: questionável m, f, contestável m, f, duvidoso (pt) m, problemático (pt) m
• Russian: спо́рный (ru) (spórnyj)
• Serbo-Croatian: ùpitan (sh)
• Swedish: tveksam (sv), tvivelaktig (sv)

of dubious respectability or morality

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 可疑的 (zh) (kěyí de)

• Dutch: twijfelachtig (nl), verdacht (nl)
• Finnish: kyseenalainen (fi)
• French: douteux (fr)
• German: fragwürdig (de)
• Hungarian: megkérdőjelezhető (hu)

• Japanese: 疑わしい (うたがわしい, utagawashii)
• Polish: kontrowersyjny (pl) m
• Portuguese: questionável m, f, dúbio (pt) m, suspeito (pt) m
• Russian: сомни́тельный (ru) (somnítelʹnyj)
• Serbo-Croatian: ùpitan (sh)
• Spanish: dudoso (es) m, cuestionable (es), controvertible (es), sospechoso (es) m
• Swedish: tveksam (sv), tvivelaktig (sv)