Questionable means doubtful, suspicious, or hard to believe. When something is questionable, it raises questions in your mind about whether it's true, right, or wise.

If your friend claims they scored 50 goals in a single soccer game, that's a questionable statement. It's theoretically possible, but so unlikely that you'd naturally wonder if they're exaggerating. When a student offers a questionable excuse for missing homework (like “my dog ate it”), the teacher suspects it might not be the whole truth.

The word often suggests that something doesn't quite add up. A questionable decision might be choosing to go swimming during a thunderstorm. A questionable fashion choice might be wearing pajamas to a wedding. These aren't necessarily wrong, but they make people raise their eyebrows and think, “Really? Are you sure about that?”

In more serious contexts, questionable can mean ethically dubious. If someone uses questionable methods to win an election, they might be bending rules or manipulating people in ways that feel wrong, even if they're technically legal.

The word comes from the idea that something deserves to be questioned rather than automatically accepted. When you call something questionable, you're saying, “Hold on, let's think about this more carefully.”