Printer Friendly
Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary
1,781,677,262 visitors served.
forum mailing list For webmasters
?
New: Language forums
Dictionary/
thesaurus
Medical
dictionary
Legal
dictionary
Financial
dictionary
Acronyms
 
Idioms
Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
encyclopedia
?

doubtful

   Also found in: Legal, Acronyms 0.04 sec.
doubt·ful  (doutfl)
adj.
1. Subject to or causing doubt: a doubtful claim; doubtful prospects.
2. Experiencing or showing doubt: Doubtful that the cord would hold, we strengthened it.
3. Of uncertain outcome; undecided.
4. Raising doubts as to legitimacy, honesty, or respectability; suspicious: the candidate's doubtful past. See Usage Note at doubt.

doubtful·ly adv.
doubtful·ness n.

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. (General Sporting Terms) (of a sportsperson) not likely to be fit enough to play or take part
n
1. a person who is undecided or uncertain about an issue
2. (General Sporting Terms) a sportsperson who is not likely to be fit enough to play or take part
doubtfully  adv
doubtfulness  n
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

In artillery and naval gunfire support, a term used by an observer or spotter to indicate that he was unable to determine the difference in range between the target and a round or rounds.
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Adj.1.doubtful - 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
questionable - subject to question; "questionable motives"; "a questionable reputation"; "a fire of questionable origin"
2.doubtful - 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"
incertain, uncertain, unsure - lacking or indicating lack of confidence or assurance; "uncertain of his convictions"; "unsure of himself and his future"; "moving with uncertain (or unsure) steps"; "an uncertain smile"; "touched the ornaments with uncertain fingers"
3.doubtful - unsettled in mind or opinion; "drew a few tentative conclusions"
unsettled - still in doubt; "an unsettled issue"; "an unsettled state of mind"

doubtful
adjective
1. unlikely, unclear, dubious, unsettled, dodgy (Brit., Austral., & N.Z. informal), questionable, ambiguous, improbable, indefinite, unconfirmed, inconclusive, debatable, indeterminate, iffy (informal), equivocal, inexact It seemed doubtful that he would move at all.
unlikely certain, definite, indubitable
3. questionable, suspect, suspicious, crooked, dubious, dodgy (Brit., Austral., & N.Z. informal), slippery, shady (informal), unscrupulous, fishy (informal), shifty, disreputable, untrustworthy They all seemed of very doubtful character.
Translations
doubtful [ˈdaʊtfʊl] ADJ
1. (= uncertain) [result, success, future] → incierto, dudoso
2. (= unconvinced) [expression] → de duda
"all right then," he said in a doubtful tone-bueno, vale -dijo con un tono de duda en la voz
Jeremy nodded his head, but he still looked doubtfulJeremy asintió pero no parecía aún convencido
I'm a bit doubtfulno estoy convencido del todo
to be doubtful thatdudar que + subjun
he was doubtful that he would be able to lift itdudaba que pudiera levantarlo
I am doubtful whether we should accept the offerdudo si deberíamos aceptar la oferta o no
to be doubtful about sthtener dudas sobre algo
3. (= unlikely) → dudoso
a reconciliation between the two sides seems doubtfuluna reconciliación entre las dos partes parece dudosa
it is doubtful that they will reach an agreementes dudoso or poco probable que lleguen a un acuerdo
it is doubtful that there will be any survivorsse duda or es poco probable que haya sobrevivientes
for a moment it seemed doubtful that he would move at allpor un momento pareció que no se iba a mover en absoluto
it is doubtful whetheres poco probable que + subjun
doubtful starter (Sport) → participante mf dudoso
4. (= questionable) [taste, reputation, quality, value] → dudoso
in doubtful tastede dudoso gusto
the weather looks a bit doubtfulel tiempo no parece muy estable

doubtful [ˈdaʊtfʊl] adj
(= unlikely) it is doubtful that ..., it is doubtful whether ... → il est douteux que ... + subj
(= uncertain) [thing] → douteux/euse
it's doubtful → ce n'est pas sûr
(= dubious) [quality, value] → douteux/euse
(= full of doubts) [person] → incertain(e)
I'm a bit doubtful
BUT Je n'en suis pas si sûr.
You sound doubtful
BUT Tu n'as pas l'air sûr.
to be doubtful about sth → avoir des doutes sur qch
to be doubtful (that) ... → douter que ... + subj
to be doubtful whether ... → douter que ... + subj
to be doubtful about doing something → hésiter à faire quelque chose
I'm doubtful about going by myself → J'hésite à y aller tout seul.
(= unlikely to play) [player]
Jokanovic is doubtful for Chelsea → La participation de Jokanovic avec Chelsea est incertaine.

doubtful
adj
(usu pred: = unconvinced) personunsicher; I’m still doubtfulich habe noch Bedenken; to be doubtful about somethingan etw (dat)zweifeln; to be doubtful about doing somethingBedenken haben, ob man etw tun soll; I was doubtful whether I could ever manage itich bezweifelte, ob ich es je schaffen könnte; to be doubtful of somebody/somethingjdm/einer Sache (dat)nicht trauen
(= unlikely) reconciliation, improvement, victoryunwahrscheinlich; it is doubtful that…es ist unsicher or zweifelhaft, ob …
(= questionable, dubious) reputationzweifelhaft, fragwürdig; future, outcomeungewiss; joke, taste, quality, valuezweifelhaft; information of doubtful reliability/originzweifelhafte Informationen; it is doubtful whether this could be managedes ist fraglich, ob das zu schaffen wäre
(Sport: = unlikely to play) he is doubtful for tonight’s matches ist fraglich, ob er heute Abend spielen kann; she is a doubtful starter for Saturday’s racees ist fraglich, ob sie in dem Rennen am Samstag starten wird

doubtful [ˈdaʊtfʊl] adj (uncertain, person) → poco convinto/a; (look) → dubbioso/a; (result, success, future) → dubbio/a, incerto/a; (debatable, question) → discutibile; (questionable, taste, reputation) → dubbio/a
to be doubtful about sth → non essere convinto/a di qc, avere dei dubbi su qc
I'm a bit doubtful → non sono tanto sicuro
it's doubtful whether ... → non è sicuro che... + sub
doubtful [ˈdaʊtfʊl] adj (uncertain, person) → poco convinto/a; (look) → dubbioso/a; (result, success, future) → dubbio/a, incerto/a; (debatable, question) → discutibile; (questionable, taste, reputation) → dubbio/a
to be doubtful about sth → non essere convinto/a di qc, avere dei dubbi su qc
I'm a bit doubtful → non sono tanto sicuro
it's doubtful whether ... → non è sicuro che... + sub

doubtful مشكوك فيه nepravděpodobný tvivlsom zweifelhaft αμφίβολος dubitativo kyseenalainen douteux sumnjičav dubbioso 疑わしい 의심스러운 twijfelachtig tvilsom wątpliwy duvidoso сомневающийся tveksam ที่เป็นที่สงสัย kuşkulu nghi ngờ 疑惑的


How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content.
?Page tools
Printer friendly
Cite / link
Email
Feedback
Add definition
? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
{This poem is no longer considered doubtful as it was in 1903.
It was doubtful whether she was really, what she called herself, a Dalmatian lady.
Miss Bridget did not, however, suffer her to continue long in this doubtful situation; for having looked some time earnestly at the child, as it lay asleep in the lap of Mrs Deborah, the good lady could not forbear giving it a hearty kiss, at the same time declaring herself wonderfully pleased with its beauty and innocence.
 
Dictionary/thesaurus browser? ? Full browser
 
 
Dictionary, Thesaurus, and Translations
?

Disclaimer | Privacy policy | Feedback | Copyright © 2009 Farlex, Inc.
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional. Terms of Use.