questionable

questionable
   immoral or illegal
   Literally, something which should be inquired into, but now almost always in a derogatory or euphemistic sense. A questionable motive is concealed or dishonest, a questionable act offends the law or propriety, a questionable remark or joke is one in bad taste, and a questionable payment is a bribe.

How not to say what you mean: A dictionary of euphemisms. . 2014.

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  • questionable — ques‧tion‧a‧ble [ˈkwestʆnəbl] adjective 1. not definitely correct or true: • Looking back, we did make some questionable decisions. 2. behaviour or actions that are questionable seem likely to be dishonest or wrong: • business deals of a rather …   Financial and business terms

  • Questionable — Ques tion*a*ble, a. 1. Admitting of being questioned; inviting, or seeming to invite, inquiry. [R.] [1913 Webster] Thou com st in such a questionable shape That I will speak to thee. Shak. [1913 Webster] 2. Liable to question; subject to be… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • questionable — [kwes′chən ə bəl, kwes′tyənə bəl] adj. 1. that can or should be questioned or doubted; open to doubt [a questionable story] 2. suspected with good reason of being immoral, dishonest, unsound, etc. 3. not definitely as specified; uncertain [of… …   English World dictionary

  • questionable — I (dubious) adjective ambiguous, arguable, at issue, contestable, controversial, controvertible, debatable, disputable, doubtable, doubtful, dubious, dubitable, enigmatical, equivocal, experimental, fallible, hard to believe, hardly possible,… …   Law dictionary

  • questionable — (adj.) c.1600, open to dispute, doubtful, from QUESTION (Cf. question) + ABLE (Cf. able). Depreciatory sense of dubious in character is attested from 1806. Related: Questionably …   Etymology dictionary

  • questionable — *doubtful, dubious, problematic Analogous words: uncertain, suspicious (see corresponding nouns at UNCERTAINTY): *obscure, vague, equivocal Antonyms: authoritative: unquestioned …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • questionable — [adj] doubtful, uncertain ambiguous, apocryphal, arguable, contingent, controversial, controvertible, cryptic, debatable, disputable, dubious, dubitable, enigmatic, equivocal, fishy*, hard to believe, hypothetical, iffy*, indecisive, indefinite,… …   New thesaurus

  • questionable — ► ADJECTIVE 1) open to doubt. 2) of suspect morality, honesty, etc. DERIVATIVES questionably adverb …   English terms dictionary

  • questionable — ques|tion|a|ble [ˈkwestʃənəbəl] adj 1.) not 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. 2.) not likely to be good, honest,… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • questionable — questionableness, questionability, n. questionably, adv. /kwes cheuh neuh beuhl/, adj. 1. of doubtful propriety, honesty, morality, respectability, etc.: questionable activities; in questionable taste. 2. open to question or dispute; doubtful or… …   Universalium

  • questionable — ques|tion|a|ble [ kwestʃənəbl ] adjective * 1. ) possibly not true, accurate, or complete: The results of the test seem highly questionable. 2. ) probably not good, honest, or worth admiring: questionable behavior/conduct/practices questionable… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

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