indubitable

adjective

in·​du·​bi·​ta·​ble (ˌ)in-ˈdü-bə-tə-bəl How to pronounce indubitable (audio)
-ˈdyü-
: too evident to be doubted : unquestionable
indubitability noun
indubitableness noun
indubitably adverb

Did you know?

There's no reason to question the fairly straightforward etymology of indubitable—a word that has remained true to its Latin roots. It arrived in Middle English in the 15th century from Latin indubitabilis, itself a combination of "in-" ("not") and "dubitabilis" ("open to doubt or question"). "Dubitabilis" is from the verb dubitare, meaning "to doubt," which also gave us our "doubt." The word dubitable also exists in English, and of course means "questionable or doubtable," but it is fairly rare.

Examples of indubitable in a Sentence

the indubitable fact that there are no more woolly mammoths or saber-toothed tigers around
Recent Examples on the Web The DeSantis announcement is an indubitable win for Musk. Scott Nover, Quartz, 24 May 2023 There is all of a sudden one Way of Knowing which presents us with indubitable truths. Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 13 Dec. 2010 In the 15 years that followed her country music debut, Swift has fully metamorphosed from Nashville darling into indubitable Queen of Pop. Los Angeles Times, 15 Nov. 2022 The indubitable charm of the movie is all the richer because it is tracked by quiet fears. Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 21 Apr. 2022 This makes indubitable sense since that truck could suddenly swerve into the lane of the self-driving car. Lance Eliot, Forbes, 23 Dec. 2021 By the way, using San Francisco as a testbed does make indubitable sense. Lance Eliot, Forbes, 17 Oct. 2021 Friendship has been through a plethora of trends since the beginning of lockdown: the Houseparty phase (an indubitable nightmare), the era of the Zoom pub quiz and, more recently, the rise of the WhatsApp voice note essay. Zoe Beaty, refinery29.com, 22 June 2020 Her character, Belle, feisty and tender, arrives late to the story but makes an indubitable impact. Hamish Bowles, Vogue, 17 Oct. 2018

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'indubitable.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English indubitabyll, from Latin indubitabilis, from in- + dubitabilis dubitable

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of indubitable was in the 15th century

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Dictionary Entries Near indubitable

Cite this Entry

“Indubitable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/indubitable. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

indubitable

adjective
in·​du·​bi·​ta·​ble (ˈ)in-ˈd(y)ü-bət-ə-bəl How to pronounce indubitable (audio)
: impossible to doubt : beyond question
indubitably adverb

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