ENGLISH DICTIONARY

Doubtful

Definition, Meaning & Examples

Pronunciation /ˈdaʊtfəl/ · Part of speech adjective

Quick meaning: Doubtful is an adjective meaning Subject to, or causing doubt.

Meaning

Subject to, or causing doubt.

More Meanings

  1. Experiencing or showing doubt, skeptical.
  2. Undecided or of uncertain outcome.
  3. Improbable or unlikely.
  4. Suspicious, or of dubious character.
  5. Unclear or unreliable.
  6. A doubtful person or thing.
  7. (obsolete) Fearsome, dreadful.

Example Sentences

The pupils of her great eyes were large in the doubtful lamplight, swallowing their green fires in deep pools of mystery and darkness.
Yet it is not the predominant views of the experts but the views of a minority, mostly of rather doubtful standing in their profession, which are taken up and spread by the intellectuals.
They had their lists of Liberals and of the doubtfuls who still remained doubtful. As the election drew near, the force of the whole organization was turned upon these unrepentant doubtfuls.

Word Forms

Synonyms for doubtful

Depending on context, synonyms include dubious, tentative, uncertain, unsettled, questionable, unsure.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include dubious, incertain, unsure, questionable, uncertain, dubitable.

Related Dictionary Tools

Sources & Attribution

FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0

Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.