different between improbable vs questionable

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French improbable, from im- +? probable.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?m?p??b?bl?/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?m?p??b?bl?/
• Hyphenation: im?prob?a?ble

Adjective

improbable (comparative more improbable, superlative most improbable)

1. Not likely to be true.

2. Not likely to happen.

Antonyms

• probable

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

See also

• impossible

Catalan

Adjective

improbable (masculine and feminine plural improbables)

1. improbable, unlikely

   Antonym: probable

Derived terms

• improbablement

Related terms

• improbabilitat

Further reading

• “improbable” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “improbable” in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana.
• “improbable” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “improbable” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

French

Etymology

From im- +? probable.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??.p??.babl/

Adjective

improbable (plural improbables)

1. unlikely, improbable (not likely)

   Synonym: peu probable

Further reading

• “improbable” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Galician

Alternative forms

• improbábel

Adjective

improbable m or f (plural improbables)

1. improbable (not likely to happen)

   Antonym: probable

Derived terms

• improbabilidade

Further reading

• “improbable” in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega, Royal Galician Academy.

Spanish

Adjective

improbable (plural improbables)

1. improbable, unlikely

   Antonym: probable

Derived terms

Further reading

• “improbable” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.

English

Alternative forms

• quæstionable (archaic)

Etymology

question +? -able

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?kw?st???n?bl?/
• 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

Translations