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| Main Entry: | |
| 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: | 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: | complicated |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | difficult, complex |
| Synonyms: | Byzantine, Daedalean, Gordian, abstruse, arduous, can of worms, convoluted, difficult, elaborate, entangled, fancy, gasser, hard, hi-tech, interlaced, intricate, involved, knotty, labyrinthine, mega factor, mixed, perplexing, problematic, puzzling, recondite, sophisticated, troublesome, various, wheels within wheels |
| Notes: | something complex may be well-organized and logically constructed as well as subtle and intricate, while a thing that is complicated will have something irregular, perverse, asymmetrical in addition to fundamental intricacy; complex is more formal and technical (a problem in mathematics is complex) while something like personal life can be complicated |
| Antonyms: | easy, facile, simple |
| 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: | hard on someone; hard to do |
| Synonyms: | Gargantuan, Herculean, ambitious, arduous, backbreaker, bothersome, burdensome, challenging, crucial, demanding, difficile, easier said than done, effortful, exacting, formidable, galling, hard-won, heavy, immense, intricate, irritating, labored, laborious, no picnic, not easy, onerous, operose, painful, problem, problematic, prohibitive, rigid, severe, stiff, strenuous, titanic, toilsome, tough, troublesome, trying, unyielding, uphill, upstream, wearisome |
| Antonyms: | calm, easy, free, manageable, plain, simple, uncomplicated |
| Main Entry: | disputable |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | debatable; open to discussion |
| Synonyms: | arguable, controversial, doubtful, dubious, moot, mootable, problematic, questionable, uncertain |
| Antonyms: | inarguable, indisputable, unquestionable |
| Main Entry: | doubtful |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | questionable, unclear |
| Synonyms: | ambiguous, borderline, chancy, clouded, contingent, debatable, dicey, disreputable, doubtable, dubious, dubitable, equivocal, far-fetched, fat chance, fishy, hazardous, hazy, iffy, impugnable, inconclusive, indecisive, indefinite, indeterminate, indistinct, insecure, long shot, obscure, on thin ice, open, pending, precarious, problematic, shady, sneaky*, speculative, suspect, suspicious, touch-and-go, touchy, uncertain, unconfirmed, undecided, uneasy, unsettled, unstable, unsure, up for grabs |
| Notes: | a person is capable of doubting, whereas a thing is dubitable; dubious, unlike doubtful, carries the connotation of suspicion |
| Antonyms: | certain, clear, confirmed, decided, definite, exact, resolved, settled, unquestionable |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | dubious |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | doubtful |
| Synonyms: | arguable, chancy, debatable, diffident, disputable, dubitable, equivocal, far-fetched, fishy, fly-by-night, hesitant, iffy, improbable, indecisive, moot, mootable, open, perplexed, problematic, questionable, reluctant, shady, skeptical, suspect, suspicious, touch and go, trustless, unassured, uncertain, unclear, unconvinced, undecided, undependable, unlikely, unreliable, unsure, untrustworthy, untrusty, wavering |
| Notes: | a person is capable of doubting, whereas a thing is dubitable; dubious, unlike doubtful, carries the connotation of suspicion |
| Antonyms: | certain, definite, doubtless, positive, reliable, sure, trustworthy, trusty, undoubtful |
| 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 |
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.
