Unquestionably

How to spell unquestionably

14 letters · 5 syllables

How to pronounce unquestionably

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does unquestionably mean?

1. adverbIn a way that is beyond doubt or dispute; certainly.

Unquestionably in a sentence

• The new bridge is unquestionably the fastest route into the city.

• Her years of training make her unquestionably the best candidate for the role.

Where does unquestionably come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This long adverb is built from a chain of pieces that English added one at a time. At its heart lies the Latin verb quaerere, meaning 'to seek, to ask, or to inquire', whose noun form quaestio described an inquiry or interrogation. Through Old French, 'question' entered English in the 1200s as both a noun and a verb. To it English attached the Latin-derived ending -able, meaning 'able to be', producing 'questionable', that is, open to doubt; the native English prefix un- then negated it, and finally the adverb ending -ly was added to give 'unquestionably', meaning 'in a way that cannot be doubted'. The same quaerere root quietly survives in a crowd of relatives such as 'inquire', 'query', 'request', and 'conquest', which all share the idea of seeking or asking. The spelling trap is mostly the unstressed middle: the silent-sounding 'tion' written as 'tio' and the run of vowels in -ably, where writers are tempted to put -ibly instead.

How the word is built

• un- (not)
• question (from Latin quaerere, to ask or seek)
• -able (capable of being)
• -ly (adverb suffix)