ar ‧ gu ‧ a ‧ ble /ˈɑːɡjuəb ə l $ ˈɑːr-/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Word Family: adjective : ↑ arguable , ↑ argumentative ; verb : ↑ argue ; noun : ↑ argument ; adverb : ↑ arguably ]
1 . not certain, or not definitely true or correct, and therefore easy to doubt SYN debatable :
Whether or not Webb is the best person for the job is arguable.
2 . it is arguable that used in order to give good reasons why something might be true:
It’s arguable that the legislation has had little effect on young people’s behaviour.
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THESAURUS
▪ controversial causing a lot of disagreement and angry argument, especially in the newspapers, on television etc:
Abortion is a controversial subject.
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The film was highly controversial at the time.
▪ contentious formal likely to cause a lot of disagreement and argument :
the contentious issue of immigration
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These claims are highly contentious.
▪ debatable/arguable used when you think that something is not certain and that people have different opinions about it, especially in the phrase it is debatable/arguable whether :
It is debatable whether this book is as good as her previous novel.
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It is arguable whether these measures will reduce the overall cost.
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Does the treatment work? I think that’s debatable.
▪ something is a moot point used when you think that something is not certain and that people have different opinions about it - a rather formal phrase:
Whether this proposal will really reduce crime is a moot point.