questionable

English

Alternative forms

• quæstionable (archaic)

Etymology

From question +‎ -able.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkwɛst͡ʃənəbl̩/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• 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, Jr., chapter 3, in The Portrait of a Lady, New York, N.Y.: Houghton, Mifflin and Company […], →OCLC, page 28:

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

   • 2024 August 26, Mikael Thalen, “MAGA turns to roadkill-eating anti-vaxer with a brain worm to ‘Make America Healthy Again’”, in The Daily Dot‎^[1]:

     MAHA went viral across social media and led to an explosion of questionable claims regarding health and wellness.

2. Of dubious respectability or morality.

   Tiffiny’s behavior is highly questionable.

   • 1920, Carolyn Wells, chapter 18, in Raspberry Jam‎^[2], Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, page 302:

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

3. (obsolete) Inviting questions; inviting inquiry.
   • c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iv], page 257, column 1:

     Thou com'ſt in ſuch a queſtionable ſhape / That I will ſpeake to thee.

Derived terms

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

Descendants

• → German: fragwürdig (calque)

Translations

problematic; open to doubt or challenge

• Belarusian: спрэчны (sprečny)
• Bulgarian: съмнителен (bg) (sǎmnitelen), спорен (bg) (sporen)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 可疑的 (zh) (kěyí de)

• Czech: diskutabilní (cs)
• Danish: tvivlsom
• Dutch: twijfelachtig (nl)
• Finnish: kyseenalainen (fi)
• French: discutable (fr)
• Georgian: სადაო (sadao)
• German: fragwürdig (de)
• Greek: αμφισβητήσιμος (el) (amfisvitísimos)
• Hungarian: kétséges (hu)
• Italian: problematico (it), questionabile, controverso (it), discutibile (it), opinabile (it)
• Japanese: 疑わしい (ja) (うたがわしい, utagawashii)
• Macedonian: спо́рен (spóren)
• Ottoman Turkish: شبهه‌لو (şübheli)
• Persian: سؤال‌برانگیز (so'âl-bar-angiz)
• Plautdietsch: froaglich, bedenkjlich
• Polish: wątpliwy (pl), sporny (pl), kontrowersyjny (pl)
• Portuguese: questionável, contestável, duvidoso (pt), problemático (pt)
• Romanian: discutabil (ro)
• Russian: спо́рный (ru) (spórnyj)
• Serbo-Croatian: ùpitan (sh)
• Swedish: tveksam (sv), tvivelaktig (sv)
• Ukrainian: please add this translation if you can

of dubious respectability or morality

• Azerbaijani: şübhəli
• Bulgarian: съмнителен (bg) (sǎmnitelen)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 可疑的 (zh) (kěyí de)

• Dutch: twijfelachtig (nl), verdacht (nl)
• Finnish: kyseenalainen (fi)
• French: douteux (fr)
• Georgian: საეჭვო (saeč̣vo)
• German: fragwürdig (de), zwiespältig (de), gewagt (de), verwegen (de)
• Hungarian: megkérdőjelezhető (hu)
• Italian: dubbio (it)
• Japanese: 疑わしい (ja) (うたがわしい, utagawashii)
• Macedonian: сомни́телен (somnítelen)
• Polish: kontrowersyjny (pl)
• Portuguese: questionável, dúbio (pt), suspeito (pt)
• Russian: сомни́тельный (ru) (somnítelʹnyj)
• Serbo-Croatian: ùpitan (sh)
• Spanish: dudoso (es), cuestionable (es), controvertible (es), sospechoso (es)
• Swedish: tveksam (sv), tvivelaktig (sv), dubiös (sv), suspekt (sv), misstänkt (sv), diskutabel (sv), disputabel (sv), diskuterbar