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Glite Dictionary
contestable

contestable

1 6.8
Can be argued against or shown to be wrong
  • adjective
  • /kənˈtɛstəbl/
translation icon : contestable
  • The student's claim about the experiment's outcome is contestable, as other researchers have different interpretations.

That would be highly contestable according to the the protocols and the the spirit of the debate that I know from my Jewish education.

Examples

  • "Traditions and institutions must be contestable; a priori assumptions were mocked by the flux of modern life.

    Academic text (2013)

  • Like so many other terms in political science, terrorism and freedom fighting are indeed essentially contestable concepts.

    Academic text (1990)

  • Whether this story makes sense is contestable.

    Academic text (2001)

  • That would be highly contestable according to the the protocols and the the spirit of the debate that I know from my Jewish education.

    Robinson Erhardt

  • A preference for the political process itself reflects a contestable moral judgment.

    Academic text (2008)

  • As a result, jurisdictional authority over particular immigration policies is contestable.

    Academic text (2010)

  • The evidence is contestable.

    Planet of the Apes (1968)

  • But sometimes the principles are contested, or at least contestable, and in such cases, they must certainly be identified and defended, and the fact that they are being used is obvious to all.

    Academic text (2001)

  • What results from speculations of this sort will lack analytical rigor and may be contestable.

    Academic text (1990)

  • Judgments about what is politically practical are time-sensitive, context-bound, and inherently contestable.

    Academic text (1990)

Synonyms

debatable
vscontestable
34 5.0

Open to question or discussion

is fit for formal dispute or challenge rather than casual discussion
arguable
vscontestable
12 6.0

Open to doubt or debate because it may not be true

focuses on being open to direct challenge or formal dispute
appealable
vscontestable
  • Formal
1 7.4

Able to be challenged by a higher court or authority

is more general and not limited to cases for higher review
challengeable
vscontestable
  • Formal
1 7.4

Able to be questioned or opposed in court

is broader and applies to disputes beyond legal or official cases

Antonyms

undisputed
30 4.2

Accepted by everyone and not doubted

incontestable
  • Formal
2 7.5

People cannot doubt it because it is clearly true

accepted
1.3

Approved and considered correct by most people in a group

How Contestable

controversial
423 5.0
disputable
2 6.6
contestable
1 6.8
uncontested
10 5.1

Surface Forms

contestable positive

Morphology

contestable = contest (transparent) = contest + able

The meaning is directly compositional: something contestable is something that can be contested or challenged.

Etymology

Contestable comes from contest, which originally used Latin parts meaning 'together' (con-) and a root meaning 'witness' — the same root you see in testify and testimony. Because a 'contest' came to mean 'argue' or 'challenge', contestable means 'able to be argued or challenged'.