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doubtful

[dout-fuhl]

Example Sentences Origin

adjective

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:
1350–1400; Middle English douteful. See doubt, -ful

Related forms

doubt·ful·ly, adverb

doubt·ful·ness, noun

pre·doubt·ful, adjective

pre·doubt·ful·ly, adverb

qua·si-doubt·ful, adjective

EXPAND

qua·si-doubt·ful·ly, adverb

un·doubt·ful, adjective

un·doubt·ful·ly, adverb

un·doubt·ful·ness, noun

COLLAPSE

Synonyms
1. undetermined, unsettled, indecisive, dubious, problematic. 2. unsure, indeterminate. 3. irresolute, vacillating, hesitant. Doubtful, dubious, incredulous, skeptical imply reluctance or unwillingness to be convinced. To be doubtful about something is to feel that it is open to question or that more evidence is needed to prove it: to be doubtful about the statements of witnesses. Dubious implies vacillation, unsureness, or suspicion: dubious about suggested methods of manufacture. Incredulous means unwilling or reluctant to believe: incredulous at the good news. Skeptical implies a general disposition to doubt or question: skeptical of human progress. 4. shady.

Antonyms
1, 2. certain.

Usage note
See doubt.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Doubtful is always a great word to know.

So is lollapalooza. Does it mean:

a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.

an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.

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Example Sentences

Whether the settlement will raise much money is doubtful.

But even there it is doubtful that your green plans are that unusual.

It is doubtful he would have achieved acclaim without it.

EXPAND

Whether the settlement will raise much money is doubtful.

But even there it is doubtful that your green plans are that unusual.

It is doubtful he would have achieved acclaim without it.

It is doubtful that the princes appreciated the courtesy.

It's doubtful that they experience any pain, they may actually derive joy from being at odds with the particular group.

Despite the sometimes doubtful economy, no one wanted to leave, or so it seemed to me as a child.

But whether he invented the champagne method single-handedly is doubtful.

Nadler believes, highly doubtful whether the government will permit an appreciation of the dollar in the future.

Its doubtful that law schools would do this unless the bar admissions authorities required.

Immediately, there was scepticism from experts doubtful about any surviving human dodos.

It is doubtful that any significant number of preagrarian people were slaves.

It is doubtful that anyone would take their own life because their career didn't turn out exactly as they planned.

Morikawa was doubtful that an effective robotic picker was even feasible.

Some people remain doubtful that what is happening here can succeed, or be controlled.

We've conspired to create an inflation in available manpower with degrees of doubtful value in the workplace.

But that may be because folk who shack up together are already doubtful about marriage.

It is highly doubtful they would send a mature being over a trip lasting tens of thousands of years.

It's doubtful iSee will replace the morning traffic reports.

Harris said, however, that he was indigent and it was doubtful that he would be able to pay that amount.

It's highly doubtful that phones will replace written communiques on any large scale.

It is doubtful if any one invention has revolutionised any one activity more than gunpowder revolutionised war.

Many of these people know probably mor about the science than you can imagineAnd theyr are doubtful because of that.

But it's doubtful that this tactic will be much more successful than the last half-dozen.

Whether he would be better remembered today had he not so decisively retired is doubtful.

Yet a gripping performance on a screen may be preferable to a live teacher of doubtful competence.

The fish is also safe, although consumers are doubtful.

But it's doubtful that will amount to anything more than a stopgap anyway.

Even if companies began suing the free-game providers, it seems doubtful the movement could be stopped entirely.

West was on firm ground in doubling but was doubtful about which of his partner's suits to lead.

Nevertheless, it is doubtful whether the simultaneous strength of gold, equities and bonds can last much longer.

It is seriously doubtful that technology will materially change this.

Whether fist-bumping a money token will ever replace the slick bill-palming technique that gets you the best table is doubtful.

All this makes the prospect of enacting the reforms the country badly needs extremely doubtful.

It is highly doubtful that it indicates the respondent's moral values.

It's doubtful that other articles have mentioned this fact.

He was doubtful about the ability of the army to cope with conditions in a land they had no knowledge of.

Doubtful they read it and if they do they are looking for hole in it not to engage you.

Whether all this is enough to reverse the decline of manufacturing is doubtful.

It seems pretty doubtful that anyone could identify an adaptive advantage to depression.

But whether they will find the money for that, while simultaneously building new prisons, already seems doubtful.

Worse, it is doubtful that this loan will even provide stability until the election.

It is a nice idea, though of doubtful practicality right now.

But it is doubtful whether the law can be applied in practice, if too many people try to use.

She is doubtful that man will ever fully understand whales which operate on a scale too large to be comprehended by human senses.

It is doubtful that being burst by a laser is worse than being hit by a burst from a machine gun.

The practicality of such an informal promise is doubtful.

It is, nevertheless, doubtful that these papers will end the matter.

It is also doubtful whether the proposed link would do much to address regional variations.

The scheme relies on doubtful reasoning by the banks and shoddy inspection by auditors.

But employers are also doubtful that older workers can still hack.

There are so many rebellions, each from a different faction, that even moderate stability is doubtful.

And some observers remain doubtful that holographic storage will be commercially viable any time soon.

But it is doubtful whether it would have come so far, so fast, had it remained in public hands.

COLLAPSE

Collins

World English Dictionary

doubtful (ˈdaʊtfʊl)

—*adj*
1.	unlikely; improbable
2.	characterized by or causing doubt; uncertain: a doubtful answer
3.	unsettled; unresolved
4.	of questionable reputation or morality
5.	having reservations or misgivings
6.	(of a sportsperson) not likely to be fit enough to play or take part

—n
7.	a person who is undecided or uncertain about an issue
8.	a sportsperson who is not likely to be fit enough to play or take part

usage It was formerly considered correct to use whether after doubtful (it is doubtful whether he will come), but now if and that are also acceptable

'doubtfully

—*adv*

'doubtfulness

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

doubtful

late 14c., from doubt + -ful. Related: Doubtfully.

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Matching Quote

"In order that people may be happy in their work, these three things are needed: They must be fit for it: they must not do too much of it: and they must have a sense of success in it—not a doubtful sense, such as needs some testimony of others for its confirmation, but a sure sense, or rather knowledge, that so much work has been done well, and fruitfully done, whatever the world may say or think about it."

-W.H. Auden

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