HomeSAT Vocabulary1,000-word listcall into question

call into question

/ˌkɔːl ɪntə ˈkwɛstʃən/ · KAWL in-tuh KWES-chuhnevaluation phrase

Raise doubts about the truth, reliability, or validity of something.

Use call into question to signal this exact relationship between ideas: raise doubts about the truth, reliability, or validity of something.

What call into question Really Means

The word becomes easier to use when its closely related senses are separated and compared.

1

Question reliability

Give reason to doubt a source or method.

Example

Missing records call the estimate into question.

2

Challenge validity

Undermine confidence in a conclusion.

Example

The failed replication calls the original finding into question.

3

Reconsider an assumption

Prompt renewed examination of what was accepted.

Example

The discovery calls the standard chronology into question.

Use call into question Naturally

Notice how the surrounding noun or clause reveals the exact shade of meaning.

Missing records call the estimate into question.

The failed replication calls the original finding into question.

The discovery calls the standard chronology into question.

Precision Matters

Call into question overlaps with several common words, but each carries a different emphasis.

call into question

Signals raise doubts about the truth, reliability, or validity of something.

vs.
cast doubt on

Means make a claim, explanation, or source seem uncertain or less credible.

call into question

Signals raise doubts about the truth, reliability, or validity of something.

vs.
bear out

Means confirm or support a claim through evidence or experience.

call into question

Signals raise doubts about the truth, reliability, or validity of something.

vs.
challenge the assumption that

Means question an underlying belief on which reasoning depends.

call into question

Signals raise doubts about the truth, reliability, or validity of something.

vs.
refute

Means to prove that a claim is false.

Test call into question in Context

The later copying creates a reason to doubt the source’s reliability.

1

The discovery that several entries were copied decades later would ___ the register’s reliability as a contemporary record.

Compare words that clarify the target word's meaning, range, or contrast.

cast doubt onMake a claim, explanation, or source seem uncertain or less credible.bear outConfirm or support a claim through evidence or experience.challenge the assumption thatQuestion an underlying belief on which reasoning depends.refuteTo prove that a claim is false.
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Editorial responsibilityFirst Academy Academic Team
Updated3 August 2026
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