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| Main Entry: |
problematical
|
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | ambiguous |
| Synonyms: | at issue, borderline, chancy, clear as dishwater, clouded, cryptic, doubtful, dubious, dubitable, enigmatic, enigmatical, equivocal, in doubt, in question, inconclusive, indecisive, indefinite, indeterminate, inexplicit, muddy, obscure, opaque, problematic, puzzling, questionable, tenebrous, uncertain, unclear, unintelligible, unsure, vague |
| Main Entry: | chancy |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | dangerous, risky |
| Synonyms: | capricious, contingent, dicey, erratic, fluctuant, fluky, hazardous, iffy, incalculable, precarious, problematic, problematical, rocky, speculative, ticklish, touchy, tricky, uncertain, unpredictable, unsound, whimsical |
| Antonyms: | certain, not dangerous, safe, secure, sure, tried |
| Main Entry: | debatable |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | controversial |
| Synonyms: | arguable, between rock and hard place, between sixes and sevens, betwixt and between, bone of contention, borderline, chancy, contestable, disputable, doubtful, dubious, iffy, in dispute, moot, mootable, open to question, problematic, problematical, questionable, the jury's out, touch and go, uncertain, undecided, unsettled, up for discussion |
| Antonyms: | certain, inarguable, incontrovertible, indubious, questionable, sure, uncontestable, undoubted |
| Main Entry: | difficult |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | complicated; hard to comprehend |
| Synonyms: | abstract, abstruse, baffling, bewildering, complex, confounding, confusing, dark, deep, delicate, enigmatic, enigmatical, entangled, esoteric, formidable, hard to explain, hard to solve, hidden, inexplicable, intricate, involved, knotty, labyrinthine, loose, meandering, mysterious, mystical, mystifying, nice, obscure, obstinate, paradoxical, perplexing, problematical, profound, puzzling, rambling, subtle, tangled, thorny, ticklish, troublesome, unclear, unfathomable, unintelligible, vexing |
| Antonyms: | easy, simple, straightforward, uncomplicated |
| Main Entry: | dubious |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | vague, unclear |
| Synonyms: | ambiguous, debatable, disinclined, doubtful, equivocal, indefinite, indeterminate, mistrustful, obscure, open, problematic, problematical, undecided, unsettled |
| Notes: | a person is capable of doubting, whereas a thing is dubitable; dubious, unlike doubtful, carries the connotation of suspicion |
| Antonyms: | certain, clear, definite, unambiguous, unobscure |
| Main Entry: | knotty |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | troublesome |
| Synonyms: | Gordian, baffling, complex, complicated, difficult, effortful, elaborate, formidable, hard, intricate, involved, labyrinthine, mazy, mystifying, nodulous, perplexing, problematical, puzzling, ramified, reticular, rough, rugged, sophisticated, sticky*, terrible, thorny, tough, tricky, uphill |
| Antonyms: | simple, uncomplicated, untroublesome |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | problematic |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | open to doubt |
| Synonyms: | ambiguous, arguable, chancy, debatable, disputable, doubtful, dubious, dubitable, enigmatic, iffy, indecisive, moot, open, precarious, problematical, puzzling, questionable, suspect, tricky, uncertain, unsettled, up for grabs |
| Antonyms: | certain, fixable, settled, solvable, sure |
| Main Entry: | questionable |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | doubtful, uncertain |
| Synonyms: | ambiguous, apocryphal, arguable, contingent, controversial, controvertible, cryptic, debatable, disputable, dubious, dubitable, enigmatic, equivocal, fishy, hard to believe, hypothetical, iffy, indecisive, indefinite, indeterminate, moot, mysterious, obscure, occult, open to doubt, open to question, oracular, paradoxical, problematic, problematical, provisional, shady, suspect, suspicious, unconfirmed, undefined, under advisement, under examination, unproven, unreliable, unsettled, vague |
| Notes: | questionable means open to doubt, disagreement, or challenge - or of dubious morality, honesty, or respectability; questioning (adjective) means showing curiosity or inquiring about - or (noun) an inquiry or interrogation |
| Antonyms: | certain, definite, indisputable, proven, sure, undoubted, unquestionable |
| Main Entry: | theoretical |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | hypothetical |
| Synonyms: | abstract, academic, analytical, as a premise, assumed, codified, conjectural, contingent, formalistic, formularized, general, ideal, idealized, ideational, ideological, imaginative, impractical, in the abstract, in theory, instanced, intellectual, logical, metaphysical, notional, on paper, pedantic, philosophical, postulated, presumed, problematical, pure, quixotic, speculative, suppositional, tentative, transcendent, transcendental, unearthly, unproved, unsubstantiated, vague |
| Notes: | empirical describes results determined by experiment and observed behavior or facts; theoretical describes results that are based on guesswork or hypothesis - and pragmatic is contrasted with theoretical on the grounds that the former proceeds from what is demonstrably practical, the latter from conjecture |
| Antonyms: | certain, definite, factual, proven, real |
Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition
Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
