arguably

adverb

ar·​gu·​ably ˈär-gyü-(ə-)blē 

: as may be argued or shown by argument

an arguably effective strategy

—used to say that a statement is very possibly true even if it is not certainly true

He was arguably the greatest writer of his era.

Examples of arguably in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

While Nelson Mandela became South Africa's first Black president and a global icon – having spent 27 years in jail for his role in the fight against apartheid – his wife Winnie, who was arguably just as instrumental in that fight, has been widely maligned. —Kate Bartlett, NPR, 2 May 2026

Hunter Goodman, who had 31 home runs last year, is arguably the best catcher in baseball and is playing near the MLB minimum at $810,000. —Dp Opinion, Denver Post, 2 May 2026

Gibson, arguably the most productive offensive returner in the Fort Worth-area, rushed for 2,263 yards and 41 TDs as a junior en route to Star-Telegram All-Area First Team honors. —Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 May 2026

More importantly, the Flyers are arguably a few rungs below the Senators team that Carolina had zero trouble with in a sweep. —Shayna Goldman, New York Times, 1 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1851, in the meaning defined above