doubtful
of uncertain outcome or result.
admitting of or causing doubt; uncertain; ambiguous.
unsettled in opinion or belief; undecided; hesitating.
of equivocal or questionable character: His tactics are highly doubtful.
Origin of doubtful
1synonym study For doubtful
usage note For doubtful
Other words for doubtful
Opposites for doubtful
Other words from doubtful
- doubt·ful·ly, adverb
- doubt·ful·ness, noun
- pre·doubt·ful, adjective
- pre·doubt·ful·ly, adverb
- quasi-doubtful, adjective
- qua·si-doubt·ful·ly, adverb
- un·doubt·ful, adjective
- un·doubt·ful·ly, adverb
- un·doubt·ful·ness, noun
Words Nearby doubtful
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use doubtful in a sentence
It was doubtful we were going to make it to March 1, but with the money that came in we’ve probably got March 1 taken care of.
Could GoFundMe campaigns save our cultural collections? Las Vegas’s Pinball Hall of Fame is banking on it. | Kate Silver | February 26, 2021 | Washington PostWhether his time behind bars had a wider effect is doubtful.
Bee theft is almost a perfect crime—but there’s a new sheriff in town | Andrew Zaleski | February 9, 2021 | Popular-ScienceMcCaffrey has been limited to only three games and is doubtful to play Sunday with a thigh injury.
Washington football preview: Ron Rivera’s Carolina reunion secondary to playoff push | Nicki Jhabvala, Sam Fortier | December 26, 2020 | Washington PostIt’s a delicious promise, but whether American workers — battered, politically polarized and out of work in great numbers — can take on a fight of this nature at this moment is doubtful.
A call to revolutionize the workplace — by working less | Sheila McClear | December 18, 2020 | Washington PostPolitical pundits used other terms to describe swing states, such as “doubtful” states.
It is doubtful that any Churchill-like figure—were one available—could thrive.
But from the moment the OSCE team arrived at the site, it began to look doubtful the inquiry had any chance to succeed.
In the Killing Fields of Ukraine with Children Who Saw the MH17 Horror | Anna Nemtsova | July 20, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTWhether the vote in a rump referendum over the weekend genuinely reflected public opinion in the eastern-most regions is doubtful.
But it is doubtful anyone will ever prove who poisoned Arafat, if poisoned he was.
Arafat’s Polonium Poisoning Mystery Resurfaces | Christopher Dickey | November 7, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTStunned, and then immediately doubtful—and, honestly, can you blame us?
The place was well defended by earthworks and natural parapets, and for several hours the issue of the contest was doubtful.
The Philippine Islands | John ForemanNothing doubtful or "reputed" ever arrived in the huge packing-cases consigned to Walls End Castle.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3) | Charles James WillsIt is to be feared that like the sauce of sauces in the hands of the inexperienced cook, the result is more than doubtful.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3) | Charles James WillsIt is doubtful whether the huge commercial premium that greets success to-day does good or harm.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice | Stephen LeacockFor a considerable time it appeared very doubtful how the battle would end.
Hunting the Lions | R.M. Ballantyne
British Dictionary definitions for doubtful
/ (ˈdaʊtfʊl) /
unlikely; improbable
characterized by or causing doubt; uncertain: a doubtful answer
unsettled; unresolved
of questionable reputation or morality
having reservations or misgivings
(of a sportsperson) not likely to be fit enough to play or take part
a person who is undecided or uncertain about an issue
a sportsperson who is not likely to be fit enough to play or take part
usage For doubtful
Derived forms of doubtful
- doubtfully, adverb
- doubtfulness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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