different between questionable vs controvertible

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

English

Etymology

controvert +? -ible

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?k?nt???v?t?bl?/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?k?nt???v??t?bl?/
• Hyphenation: con?tro?vert?i?ble

Adjective

controvertible (comparative more controvertible, superlative most controvertible)

1. Open to questioning; that which can be denied, challenged, or disputed.

   Synonym: disputable

   Antonym: incontrovertible

Related terms

• controvert
• controversy

Translations

Further reading

• controvertible in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• controvertible in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.