benefit of the doubt

American  

noun

1. a favorable opinion or judgment adopted despite uncertainty.

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Etymology

Origin of benefit of the doubt

First recorded in 1840–50

Example Sentences

Yet for most of our history we have given the president the benefit of the doubt.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 12, 2026

“This operation shows state capacity that people haven’t given them the benefit of the doubt for,” says Malcolm Dorson, head of emerging markets strategy at Global X ETFs.

From Barron's • Feb. 24, 2026

Giving you the benefit of the doubt and the conversation jumping off from there, George is very good at that.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 22, 2026

So from the start of the 2021-22 season all leagues added a tolerance level, or benefit of the doubt, of about 5cm to the old offside technology.

From BBC • Jan. 4, 2026

Dad said being punk was about being open-minded, and that included giving people the benefit of the doubt, but I wasn’t convinced Selena was trying to be nice.

From "The First Rule of Punk" by Celia C. Pérez