Disputably

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. In a way that can be challenged or questioned based on differing opinions
2. Expressing something that is capable of being argued or doubted for its truth or validity
3. Done so as to invite dispute or disagreement over its correctness or accuracy

Etymology: "Disputably" is an adverb built in English from "disputable," meaning open to argument or debatable. The chain runs back to Latin "disputare," "to dispute," formed from "dis-" (apart, away) and "putare" (to reckon, think, consider), so the root sense is something like weighing matters apart from one another. Latin "disputabilis" gave English "disputable," and the adverb's final piece is the suffix "-ly," which descends from Old English "-līċe," the same ending that turns adjectives into adverbs in words like "quickly" and "boldly." The suffix's history is the more unusual part. Old English "-līċe" grew from a Germanic word meaning "body" or "form," which is also the source of "like" in the sense of "similar." So an adverb ending in "-ly" carries, at its core, the idea of being "in the form of" a particular quality. "Disputably" thus means, literally, "in a manner open to dispute."

Synonyms: arguably, contentiously, controversially, questionably, doubtfully

Antonyms: certainly, undoubtedly, indisputably, clearly, obviously