questionableques‧tion‧a‧ble /ˈkwestʃənəbəl/ ●○○ adjective 
The statistics are highly questionable.it is questionable whether It is questionable whether the taxpayer receives value for money.2not likely to be good, honest, or useful: I suspected that his motives for helping us were questionable. He was a man of questionable character.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- Barton has been involved in some questionable financial deals.
- It is questionable whether the advertisements will increase sales.
- The conclusions of the survey are questionable because the research was based on a very small sample of people.
- The picture's value is questionable.
- The research is questionable because the sample used was very small.
- Equally questionable esthetically is the dashboard, which has a look of being pieced together from assorted parts.
- His dream had finally run out in an Arabian nightmare of high living and questionable favours.
- How benign these films are, though, is questionable.
- If the lab results are questionable, a patient may be asked to return for another test.
- It seems to me questionable that Ruether is herself theistic.
- The value of such a simple dichotomy is questionable.
- There was the questionable decision to bring former Raiders coach Tom Flores out of retirement and back on to the field.
Longman Language Activatorwhen someone or something seems dishonest
use this about behaviour or a situation that makes you think that someone is doing something dishonest: · It all seems very suspicious to me. Where did he get all that money from?· The circumstances surrounding McBain's death are suspicious.· He glanced around, satisfied that nobody was taking any notice of his suspicious behaviour, then opened the door.suspicious-looking: · There was a suspicious-looking man standing in a doorway across the street.
use this to describe business deals or the people involved in them, when they seem dishonest or illegal, especially because the business is secret: · His acceptance of an interest-free £125,000 loan from a shady businessman looks suspicious to say the least.shady deal: · He has been mixed up in a number of shady deals in the Cayman Islands.
someone who is shifty looks or behaves as if they are doing or planning something dishonest: · There's something shifty about that guy.· a shifty, fast-talking lawyer
British informal probably dishonest, although you are not sure of the facts - use this especially to say that you do not want to be involved with someone or something: · Don't buy a car from him, he's a real dodgy character.· The whole thing looks distinctly dodgy to me.
use this about someone's behaviour or a business arrangement that does not seem completely right or correct, so that you think it is probably dishonest: · He had been involved in some questionable business activities at one time.· Marantz resigned after discovering that dubious business deals were being negotiated by his fellow officials.highly dubious/questionable: · The whole deal seems highly dubious to me.
informal use this about someone you think is doing or planning something dishonest, even though you do not know exactly what it is: · If you ask me, that husband of hers is up to no good.· Anyone waiting around on street corners at night must be up to no good.
when there are several different opinions about something: it is debatable whether · It is debatable whether these alternative medical treatments actually work.a debatable point · Whether or not the government was right to arrest the protesters is an extremely debatable point.
something that is questionable seems doubtful and is likely to be wrong or untrue: · The conclusions of the survey are questionable because the research was based on a very small sample of people.it is questionable whether: · It is questionable whether the advertisements will increase sales.
something that is open to question or open to debate seems doubtful and needs to be checked or discussed: · Many people feel that the safety of the drug is now open to question.· Just why the guerrillas decided to shoot down the unarmed plane remains open to debate.it is open to question/debate whether: · It is open to debate whether the new government is any better than the old one.
something that different people have different opinions about: · I'm not sure that bringing in computers has made our job easier. It's a moot point.· Whether or not increasing taxes will result in a fairer society remains a moot point.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY The statistics are highly questionable.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
The statistics are highly questionable. (=one that is likely to be wrong)· That assumption was obviously highly questionable.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB· Whether that is so in other societies, which is highly questionable, is irrelevant.· However, she makes two highly questionable assumptions that must be challenged.· In fact, it is highly questionable whether the royal use of these powers had been illegal.· Such a view seems highly questionable.· To most people today the prophecy about the second coming seems deranged and the other about everlasting life highly questionable.· These are, however, highly questionable principles in the moral and practical minefield of child care policy.· The cogency of this prescriptive analysis is highly questionable.· Now, it happens that is a very controversial and highly questionable economic proposition.
· Even more questionable is the significance of the king's conversion for his people.· What is more questionable, however, is whether it is possible to extend the direct response approach indiscriminately.
· Whether this subsection applies to insider dealing is very questionable.· Furthermore, the coincidence of inflation and unemployment makes the Keynesian policy recommendations very questionable.· Tumin regards this as a very questionable assumption.· There is a further sense in which a lack of access by land-users renders the aggregate view very questionable.
NOUN· However, she makes two highly questionable assumptions that must be challenged.· What do you think is the most sensible assumption and the most questionable assumption of conservatism?· However, this is a rather questionable assumption.· This argument seems to me to be based on several questionable assumptions.· For some questionable assumptions are being made.· This argument of course relies on the questionable assumption that eye movements adequately describe the distribution of attention to a stimulus.· Tumin regards this as a very questionable assumption.
· Which rather begs the question-shouldn't there be a governing body that regulates such questionable decisions?· There was the questionable decision to bring former Raiders coach Tom Flores out of retirement and back on to the field.
· Without them, the ships are of questionable value.· Try to avoid forcing your reviewer to read through voluminous material of questionable value to him.
WORD FAMILYnounquestionquestioningquestionerquestionnaireadjectivequestionable ≠ unquestionablequestioning ≠ unquestioningunquestionedadverbunquestionablyquestioningly ≠ unquestioninglyverbquestion
1not likely to be true or correct: The statistics are highly questionable.it is questionable whether It is questionable whether the taxpayer receives value for money.2not likely to be good, honest, or useful: I suspected that his motives for helping us were questionable. He was a man of questionable character.