1
as in unsure
not feeling sure about the truth, wisdom, or trustworthiness of someone or something
he was doubtful about the decision to complete the project despite its mounting problems
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in questionable
giving good reason for being doubted, questioned, or challenged
the election results were highly doubtful, so an investigation was begun
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in unlikely
not likely to be true or to occur
our winning the championship increasingly looks like a doubtful outcome
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in disputable
open to question or dispute
a doubtful claim to the property
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of doubtful
As for Tatum, he is listed as doubtful ahead of Game 3.
—
Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Apr. 2025
To be sure, all the deportations are of doubtful legality.
—Noah Feldman, Mercury News, 17 Apr. 2025
With all due respect to the Justices, this is doubtful.
—Nancy Doyle, Forbes.com, 17 Apr. 2025
Now, with McPherson abruptly un-disappeared, an even larger group of people—the relieved, the vengeful, the doubtful, and the desperate-for-a-byline—set about trying to vet her story.
—Casey Cep, New Yorker, 14 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for doubtful
Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Apr. 2025
To be sure, all the deportations are of doubtful legality.
—Noah Feldman, Mercury News, 17 Apr. 2025
With all due respect to the Justices, this is doubtful.
—Nancy Doyle, Forbes.com, 17 Apr. 2025
Now, with McPherson abruptly un-disappeared, an even larger group of people—the relieved, the vengeful, the doubtful, and the desperate-for-a-byline—set about trying to vet her story.
—Casey Cep, New Yorker, 14 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for doubtful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for doubtful
Adjective
-
According to Priestley, many young people reach adulthood unsure about how money functions, how relationships grow and how systems interact.—
Dan Fitzpatrick,
Forbes.com,
12 May 2025
-
Officials are unsure of where exactly Cosmos 482 will land.—
Greta Cross,
USA Today,
10 May 2025
Adjective
-
Gordon will officially be listed as questionable for Sunday afternoon’s contest at Paycom Center, team sources told The Athletic.—
Tony Jones,
New York Times,
17 May 2025
-
The Trump Administration has unleashed a torrent of unconstitutional executive orders and other questionable legal actions; with many of them, its goal seems less to win in the end than to inflict as much damage as possible along the way.—
Ruth Marcus,
New Yorker,
17 May 2025
Adjective
-
However, due to injuries suffered by Lucas Bergvall, James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski, this unlikely partnership should play together in Bilbao as Spurs attempt to win silverware for the first time since 2008.—
Mark Carey,
New York Times,
19 May 2025
-
Prison officials in Costa Rica caught an unlikely suspect attempting to smuggle drugs behind bars last week.—
Sean Neumann,
People.com,
19 May 2025
Adjective
-
When Adam Neumann launched Flow, his residential real-estate venture, a little over three years ago, a lot of people were skeptical.—
Kim Velsey,
Curbed,
16 May 2025
-
Still, the man who brought the game to life is skeptical.—
Seth Emerson,
New York Times,
16 May 2025
Adjective
-
Their dubious ‘reward’ for topping the league phase table was a matchup with another of the best teams on the continent, Paris Saint-Germain, who had underperformed in the league phase but were an obvious sleeping giant.—
James Nalton,
Forbes.com,
16 May 2025
-
After the 2020 election, Fox took her off the air because her promotion of the false contention Dominion voting machines rigged the election against Trump became part of its $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox. Pirro and Martin are not the only dubious department appointees.—
Carl Leubsdorf,
Mercury News,
16 May 2025
Adjective
-
Whether tariffs are good policy or not is debatable.—
Vicki Abeles,
Mercury News,
7 May 2025
-
What is not debatable is that the US-Ukraine minerals deal, while hollow in immediate extractive gain for the US and in many respects a Trump defeat, heralds a new age.—
Wesley Alexander Hill,
Forbes.com,
7 May 2025
Adjective
-
Joshua later discovered that the police received a tip about a suspicious vehicle earlier that day.—
Audrey Conklin,
FOXNews.com,
13 May 2025
-
Aurora police received reports at about 3 p.m. Monday of a suspicious person trespassing at The Parking Spot in the 19900 block of East 56th Avenue, trying to break into vehicles and refusing to leave, according to a news release from the police department.—
Katie Langford,
Denver Post,
13 May 2025
Adjective
-
In the early, uncertain days of COVID-19, when people were told to stay home to save lives, Lightfoot chose compassion over citations.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
20 May 2025
-
This phenomenon has been further propelled by ongoing inflation, high interest rates, and an uncertain economic outlook.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
20 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Doubtful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/doubtful. Accessed 23 May. 2025.
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