doubt

1 of 2

verb

doubted; doubting; doubts

transitive verb

1
: to call into question the truth of : to be uncertain or in doubt about
He doubts everyone's word.
2
a
: to lack confidence in : distrust
… find myself doubting him even when I know that he is honest …H. L. Mencken
b
: to consider unlikely
I doubt if I can go.
3
archaic
a
: fear
… I doubt I have been beguiled!Sir Walter Scott
b
doubtable adjective
doubter noun
doubtingly adverb

doubt

2 of 2

noun

plural doubts
1
a
: a lack of confidence : distrust
has doubts about his abilities
b
: an inclination not to believe or accept
a claim met with doubt
2
a
: uncertainty of belief or opinion that often interferes with decision-making
b
: a deliberate suspension of judgment
3
: a state of affairs giving rise to uncertainty, hesitation, or suspense
The outcome is still in doubt.
Phrases
no doubt
Choose the Right Synonym for doubt

uncertainty, doubt, dubiety, skepticism, suspicion, mistrust mean lack of sureness about someone or something.

uncertainty may range from a falling short of certainty to an almost complete lack of conviction or knowledge especially about an outcome or result.

assumed the role of manager without hesitation or uncertainty

doubt suggests both uncertainty and inability to make a decision.

plagued by doubts as to what to do

dubiety stresses a wavering between conclusions.

felt some dubiety about its practicality

skepticism implies unwillingness to believe without conclusive evidence.

an economic forecast greeted with skepticism

suspicion stresses lack of faith in the truth, reality, fairness, or reliability of something or someone.

regarded the stranger with suspicion

mistrust implies a genuine doubt based upon suspicion.

had a great mistrust of doctors

Examples of doubt in a Sentence

Verb I have always doubted the existence of life on other planets. No one doubts that the mission will be a success. I seriously doubt my parents will let me go. “Do you think you can come tonight?” “I doubt it.” She doubted his ability to succeed. He said he could do it, but I couldn't help doubting him. Noun I still have moments of doubt. There can be little doubt that smoking is bad for your health. I had a nagging doubt in the back of my mind.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
The Dodgers never doubted Hudson would eventually play a key role in their bullpen this season. Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 17 Mar. 2024 CeeLo Green asked who knew the song and without doubting a second, made her dreams come true. Jessica Roiz, Billboard, 16 Mar. 2024 Lawyers who’ve known McAfee since his days as a prosecutor in the D.A.’s office mostly doubted that this would affect his decision-making. Charles Bethea, The New Yorker, 15 Mar. 2024 There were many reasons to doubt the full expanse of the testimony by Grusch and others. Garrett M. Graff, WIRED, 11 Mar. 2024 Americans doubt his capacities and say his policies have hurt not helped them. Matthew Continetti, National Review, 9 Mar. 2024 The cast, too, never seemed to doubt that the Netflix deal would happen. Michael Schneider, Variety, 7 Mar. 2024 Our investigation of past wars revealed many reasons to doubt each of these claims. Avner Gvaryahu, Foreign Affairs, 4 Mar. 2024 There’s reasons to doubt polling is still always/often accurate. Oliver Darcy, CNN, 5 Mar. 2024
Noun
Continue reading here Angel City box score TENNIS Carlos Alcaraz arrived at Indian Wells full of doubt about his twisted right ankle. Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2024 Oh, there's no doubt that the – the claim that Prime Minister Netanyahu and others are making that somehow UNRWA is a proxy for Hamas are just flat-out lies. CBS News, 17 Mar. 2024 But Fields harbors no doubts about the transition to EVs. Steve Mollman, Fortune, 17 Mar. 2024 Kuleba said there is no doubt that the deportations are part of a wider strategy. Ivana Kottasová, CNN, 15 Mar. 2024 All of these attacks could help to sow doubts about the district attorney and her case in the minds of future jurors. Danny Hakim, New York Times, 15 Mar. 2024 Nevertheless, there's little doubt that many voters who were unlikely to support Clinton in the general voted for Sanders in the primary, and many who were unlikely to support Trump in November voted for candidates like Rubio and Kasich. Geoffrey Skelley, ABC News, 14 Mar. 2024 The way Black folks have achieved political power in this country, this state, and in this city has not been by blindly aligning themselves with the Democratic Party, although there is no doubt the Democrats are a better place to be overall. Keith A. Owens, Detroit Free Press, 11 Mar. 2024 The Navy is decommissioning many LCS early because their operating costs are higher than anticipated, and there are doubts about the vessels’ ability to defend themselves against missile attacks. Gary Robbins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'doubt.' 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

Verb and Noun

Middle English douten, from Anglo-French duter, douter, from Latin dubitare to be in doubt; akin to Latin dubius dubious

First Known Use

Verb

13th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 3a

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2a

Time Traveler
The first known use of doubt was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near doubt

Cite this Entry

“Doubt.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/doubt. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

doubt

1 of 2 verb
1
: to be uncertain about
doubts her sincerity
2
: to lack confidence in
doubted his own abilities
3
: to consider unlikely
doubt if I can go
doubtable adjective
doubter noun
doubtingly adverb

doubt

2 of 2 noun
1
: uncertainty of belief or opinion
2
: the state of being uncertain
the outcome is in doubt
3
a
: a lack of confidence
b
: an inclination not to believe or accept

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