debatable
[dɪˈbeɪtəbəɫ]adjective, noun
debatable is spelled D-E-B-A-T-A-B-L-E: 9 letters and 4 syllables. It appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 24,463rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, debatable means “Open to debate; not fully proved or confirmed” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in debatable?
| Letters | 9: D-E-B-A-T-A-B-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.3 times per million words; the 24,463rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is debatable?
Debatable appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 24,463rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce debatable?
- UK [dɪˈbeɪtəbəɫ]
Debatable has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-debatable.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of debatable
- more debatable comparative
- most debatable superlative
- debateable
- debatables plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does debatable mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Open to debate; not fully proved or confirmed.
Those data are debatable: no one has been able to replicate them.
- 2
Able to be debated; up for discussion.
The lack of bonuses this year is not debatable.
noun
- 1
A topic that is open to debate.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Debatable in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense controversial:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | discutable, débattable |
| German | umstritten, fraglich, strittig |
| Portuguese | discutível, debatível |
| Spanish | debatible |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does debatable come from?
From Old French debatable (French débattable), equivalent to debate + -able.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).