doubtful Hear it!

doubtful Definition

doubt·ful (do̵ut′fəl)

adjective

  1. in doubt; not clear or definite; ambiguous
  2. not clearly predictable; uncertain; unsure
  3. giving rise to doubt or suspicion; questionable, as in reputation
  4. feeling doubt; unsettled in opinion or belief

Etymology: ME douteful

doubtful Related Forms

doubt′·fully adverb doubt′·ful·ness noun

doubtful Synonyms

doubtful

modif.

  1. Ambiguous

    in doubt, questionable, problematic, vague, indistinct, unclear, indefinite, undetermined, unresolved, open to doubt, in question, equivocal, unsure, indeterminate, under examination, debatable, theoretical, up in the air*, iffy*, yes and no*, out of focus*; see also obscure 1, questionable 1, uncertain 2.

  2. Uncertain in mind

    dubious, doubting, questioning, skeptical, undecided, unsure, wavering, hesitating, ambivalent, undetermined, uncertain, unsettled, confused, disturbed, lost, puzzled, disconcerted, perplexed, discomposed, flustered, flurried, baffled, hesitant, distracted, faltering, unresolved, in a quandary, of two minds, unable to make up one's mind, vacillating, indecisive, irresolute, agnostic, like a doubting Thomas, troubled with doubt, of little faith, faithless, distrustful, incredulous, cynical, not knowing what's what, having no idea, in a dilemma, under a spell*, in the clouds*, up a tree*, in a haze*, not able to make head or tail of*, from Missouri*, going around in circles*, out of one's bearings*, up in the air*, wishy-washy*; see also suspicious 1.

  3. Of questionable character

    dubious, sneaky, disreputable, shady*; see questionable 2, suspicious 2.

doubtful implies strong uncertainty as to the probability, value, honesty, validity, etc. of something a doubtful remedy; dubious is less strong, suggesting merely vague suspicion or hesitancy dubious about the future; questionable strictly suggests only that there is some reason for doubt, but it is often used as a euphemism to imply strong suspicion, almost amounting to certainty, of immorality, dishonesty, etc. a questionable reputation; problematic implies only uncertainty with no suggestion of a moral question a problematic success

doubtful Usage Examples

Preposition: that

anyone: It's doubtful that anyone here today knows less about the day to day realities of running a school than I do!

Modifies a noun

  • legality: The Government built its case on unreliable intelligence, in circumstances of doubtful legality.
  • provenance: Or, of course, with no UK agriculture at all - only imported food of doubtful provenance and a rural Theme Park.
  • authenticity: It has been claimed that the words of our Lord in Luke 21: are of doubtful authenticity.
  • validity: PA reiterated that the whole notion of 'learning styles ' was of doubtful validity.
  • debt: The decision to take legal action, to recover a doubtful debt, will be determined on a case-by-case basis.
  • glance: She cast a hurried and doubtful glance over her attire.

Modifying Another Word

  • extremely: His own work on micro economics makes him extremely doubtful.
  • somewhat: The policy of enclosing stops voiced in such a refined manner on so low a wind pressure is somewhat doubtful.
  • highly: Whether these hadiths actually stem from the time of Muhammad is highly doubtful.
  • rather: With one rather doubtful exception he can't find a single credible connection.
  • equally: I am equally doubtful whether these approaches can be combined with genuine decentralization.
  • very: A lot of things you do make me very doubtful.

Used with adjective complement

  • seem: Whether there was ever any strong likeness to any building in or near Whitby seems doubtful.
  • appear: The researchers appear doubtful about their results due to species differences, stating: " inevitably there are several distinct differences.
  • remain: The very idea of a ' logic ' in the history of ideas remains quite doubtful to me.
  • look: With Norton's participation in the rest of the event now looking doubtful, Watkins now had a shot at the class victory.
  • consider: Louis Saha is also considered doubtful for the game.

Preposition: with

injury: Ty Smith is doubtful with the foot injury he sustained at Braintree.

Preposition: for

tomorrow: John Hartson is also doubtful for tomorrow, so we will likely see new Bhoy Henri Camara and young Craig Beattie pairing up-front.

Browse dictionary entries near doubtful

  1. ‹ doubter
  2. ‹ doubt
  3. ‹ Doubs
  4. ‹ doubly serrate
  5. ‹ doubly
  6. ‹ doubloon
  7. ‹ doubletree
  8. ‹ doubleton
  9. ‹ doublet
  10. ‹ doublespeak
  1. doubting ›
  2. doubting Thomas ›
  3. doubtless ›
  4. douce ›
  5. douceur ›
  6. douche ›
  7. douche bag ›
  8. dough ›
  9. doughboy ›
  10. doughface ›