cast doubt on

Idioms and Phrases

Cause something or someone to be questioned. For example, The prosecutor cast doubt on the wife's alibi . This idiom uses cast in the sense of “throw,” a usage dating from the early 1200s.

Example Sentences

Labour has pledged to build an additional 1.5m homes over the next five years to tackle the housing crisis, but a BBC investigation earlier this week revealed the vast majority of councils have cast doubt on how achievable that goal is.

From BBC

Kevin de Bruyne, 34 in June, is increasingly troubled by injuries and has cast doubt on his future at the club.

From BBC

In the same issue of the journal, however, two Harvard experts cast doubt on the study, noting that the original researchers were unable to replicate their findings when they repeated their study with new subjects.

From Los Angeles Times

His departure cast doubt on whether the report would see the light of day, because having resigned he is no longer under congressional jurisdiction and the committee only investigates House members.

From BBC

Justin Crump cast doubt on Putin's claim, telling the BBC that if "that claim were true, then Russia would have made it more clearly when the weapons were first supplied, and when they conducted successful and impactful operations against for example the Black Sea Fleet HQ in occupied Crimea".

From BBC

Related Words

• accuse
• arraign
• criticize
• discredit
• indict
• reprimand