What is another word for doubtful?

Synonyms for doubtful
ˈdaʊt fəldoubt·ful

This thesaurus page includes all potential synonyms, words with the same meaning and similar terms for the word doubtful.

English Synonyms and Antonyms0.0 / 0 votes

  1. doubtful

    Equivocal (Latin equus, equal, and vox, voice, word) denotes that which may equally well be understood in either of two or more ways. Ambiguous (Latin ambi, around, and ago, drive, lead) signifies lacking in distinctness or certainty, obscure or doubtful through indefiniteness of expression. Ambiguous is applied only to spoken or written statements; equivocal has other applications. A statement is ambiguous when it leaves the mind of the reader or hearer to fluctuate between two meanings, which would fit the language equally well; it is equivocal when it would naturally be understood in one way, but is capable of a different interpretation; an equivocal expression is, as a rule, intentionally deceptive, while an ambiguous utterance may be simply the result of a want either of clear thought or of adequate expression. That which is enigmatical must be guessed like a riddle; a statement may be purposely made enigmatical in order to provoke thought and study. That is doubtful which is fairly open to doubt; that is dubious which has become the subject of doubts so grave as scarcely to fall short of condemnation; as, a dubious reputation. Questionable may be used nearly in the sense either of dubious or of doubtful; a questionable statement is one that must be proved before it can be accepted. To say that one's honesty is questionable is a mild way of saying that in the opinion of the speaker he is likely to prove dishonest. Equivocal is sometimes, tho more rarely, used in this sense. A suspicious character gives manifest reason to be suspected; a suspicious temper is inclined to suspect the motives and intentions of others, with or without reason. Compare CLEAR.

    Synonyms:
    ambiguous, dubious, enigmatic, enigmatical, equivocal, indefinite, indeterminate, indistinct, obscure, perplexing, questionable, suspicious, uncertain

    Antonyms:
    certain, clear, distinct, evident, indisputable, indubitable, lucid, manifest, obvious, perspicuous, plain, unambiguous, unequivocal, unquestionable, unquestioned

Princeton's WordNet0.0 / 0 votes

  1. doubtful, dubious, dubitable, in question(p)adjective

    open to doubt or suspicion

    "the candidate's doubtful past"; "he has a dubious record indeed"; "what one found uncertain the other found dubious or downright false"; "it was more than dubitable whether the friend was as influential as she thought"- Karen Horney

    Antonyms:
    certain(p), settled, sure, unquestionable

  2. doubtful, dubiousadjective

    fraught with uncertainty or doubt

    "they were doubtful that the cord would hold"; "it was doubtful whether she would be admitted"; "dubious about agreeing to go"

    Synonyms:
    tentative, in question(p), dubious, dubitable

    Antonyms:
    certain(p), sure, unquestionable, settled

  3. doubtful, tentativeadjective

    unsettled in mind or opinion

    "drew a few tentative conclusions"

    Synonyms:
    dubitable, probationary, tentative, provisionary, in question(p), provisional, dubious

    Antonyms:
    sure, settled, unquestionable, certain(p)

Editors Contribution0.0 / 0 votes

  1. exegesis

    grammar in clarifications are rather ambiguous

    i'm not quiet convinced of his explanations, i'm not sure of his intentions

    Submitted by greenwriter60 on March 24, 2019  

Dictionary of English Synonymes0.0 / 0 votes

  1. doubtfuladjective

    Synonyms:
    wavering, undecided, hesitating, undetermined, in suspense

  2. doubtfuladjective

    Synonyms:
    ambiguous, dubious, equivocal, obscure, enigmatical, problematical

  3. doubtfuladjective

    Synonyms:
    indeterminate, undecided, uncertain, questionable

How to pronounce doubtful?

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Words popularity by usage frequency

rankingword
#6236suspect
#7056unlikely
#9353impaired
#11333provisional
#11666uncertain
#13380obscure
#13890suspicious
#15140tentative
#15385questionable
#17795ambiguous
#18409skeptical
#20066doubtful
#22231indefinite
#23071dubious
#29139probationary
#32220hesitant
#36208indeterminate
#36528dodgy
#37424enigmatic
#45427debatable
#53854perplexing
#67973indistinct
#70807equivocal

How to use doubtful in a sentence?

  1. Hazlitt:

    Women never reason and therefore they are, comparatively, seldom wrong. They judge instinctively of what falls under their immediate observation or experience, and do not trouble themselves about remote or doubtful consequences. If they make no profound discoveries, they do not involve themselves in gross absurdities. It is only by the help of reason and logical inference, according to Hobbes, that ?man becomes excellently wise or excellently foolish.?

  2. Bruce Green:

    Given the sequence of events, it's doubtful that Barr's effort to distance himself from the President's tweets will be enough of a cure. He'll have to keep working to rebuild public confidence.

  3. Vivien Yang:

    It is nearly impossible to influence the oil price long-term by freezing production as unconventional oil and gas and alternative energy may enter the market to bring down the price, the recent failed OPEC attempt to freeze production may cause grief from oil producers, but in reality even if it was successful its long term effect is doubtful.

  4. Shinichiro Kadota:

    It is doubtful the market tried to factor in the possibility of the Fed raising rates this year on the inflation number, but the Fed is 'data dependent' so it reacts positively to upbeat data, nowotny's comments also hurt the euro, so the stage was set for participants to cover shorts in the dollar.

  5. Holly Prigerson:

    It is also difficult to draw conclusions regarding the clinical implications of the study, given patients are actively dying, it is doubtful that a psychosocial intervention or administration of an antidepressant will effectively improve the patients ’ quality of death.


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"doubtful." Synonyms.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.synonyms.com/synonym/doubtful>.

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