doubtful

doubtful
adjective
1)

I was doubtful about going

Syn:
irresolute, hesitant, vacillating, dithering, wavering, in doubt, unsure, uncertain, of two minds, shilly-shallying, undecided, in a quandary, in a dilemma, blowing hot and cold
Ant:
confident, decisive
2)

at this point, the verdict is still doubtful

Syn:
in doubt, uncertain, open to question, unsure, unconfirmed, not definite, unknown, undecided, unresolved, debatable, in the balance, up in the air; informal iffy
Ant:
certain
3)

the whole trip is looking rather doubtful

Syn:
unlikely, improbable, dubious, impossible
Ant:
probable
4)

they are doubtful of the methods used

Syn:
distrustful, mistrustful, suspicious, wary, chary, leery, apprehensive; skeptical, unsure, ambivalent, dubious, cynical
Ant:
trusting
5)

this decision is of doubtful validity

Syn:
questionable, arguable, debatable, controversial, contentious; informal iffy
Ant:
sound
••
doubtful, ambiguous, dubious, enigmatic, equivocal, problematic, questionable
If you are doubtful about the outcome of a situation, you might be understandably dubious about getting involved in it. While all of these adjectives express suspicion, indecision, or a lack of clarity, doubtful carries such strong connotations of uncertainty that the thing being described is as good as worthless, unsound, invalid, unlikely, or doomed to fail (it was doubtful that the plane could land safely). Dubious is not quite as strong, suggesting suspicion, mistrust, or hesitation (a dubious reputation). It can also mean inclined to doubt or full of hesitation. If you're doubtful about the outcome of a particular situation, it means that you are fairly certain it will not turn out well. If you're dubious, on the other hand, it means that you're wavering or hesitating in your opinion. Questionable may merely imply the existence of doubt (a questionable excuse), but like dubious, it also has connotations of dishonesty and immorality (a place where questionable activities were going on). Problematic, in contrast to both dubious and questionable, is free from any suggestion of moral judgment or suspicion. It is applied to things that are genuinely uncertain, and to outcomes that are as likely to be positive as negative (getting everyone in the family to agree could be problematic). Ambiguous and equivocal refer to lack of clarity. But while ambiguous can refer to either an intentional or unintentional lack of clarity (her ambiguous replies to our questions), equivocal suggests an intentional wish to remain unclear (his equivocal responses indicated that he wasn't keen to cooperate). It can also mean capable of different interpretations (an equivocal statement that could be taken to mean opposite things). Something that is enigmatic is likely to be intentionally unclear as well (an enigmatic statement designed to provoke controversy), although enigmatic can also mean perplexing or mysterious.

Thesaurus of popular words. 2014.

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Synonyms:
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Look at other dictionaries:

  • doubtful — doubtful, dubious 1. The constructions that follow doubtful correspond to the pattern outlined for doubt above, with whether and if still dominant but a that clause now increasingly common: • It is doubtful that in the right to life controversy… …   Modern English usage

  • Doubtful — Doubt ful, a. 1. Not settled in opinion; undetermined; wavering; hesitating in belief; also used, metaphorically, of the body when its action is affected by such a state of mind; as, we are doubtful of a fact, or of the propriety of a measure.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • doubtful — doubtful, dubious, problematic, questionable are comparable when they mean not affording assurance of the worth, soundness, success, or certainty of something or someone. Doubtful and dubious are sometimes used with little distinction. Doubtful,… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • doubtful — I adjective arguable, at issue, conditional, conjectural, contestable, controvertible, debatable, disbelieving, disposed to question, disputable, distrustful, doubtable, doubting, dubious, dubitable, dubius, equivocal, implausible, improbable, in …   Law dictionary

  • doubtful — UK US /ˈdaʊtfəl/ adjective ACCOUNTING ► used to describe debts or accounts that are unlikely to be paid: »The Company has established an allowance for doubtful accounts based on the credit risk of specific customers and historical trends. → See… …   Financial and business terms

  • doubtful — [dout′fəl] adj. [ME douteful] 1. in doubt; not clear or definite; ambiguous 2. not clearly predictable; uncertain; unsure 3. giving rise to doubt or suspicion; questionable, as in reputation 4. feeling doubt; unsettled in opinion or belief… …   English World dictionary

  • doubtful — [adj1] questionable, unclear ambiguous, borderline, chancy, clouded, contingent, debatable, dicey, disreputable, doubtable, dubious, dubitable, equivocal, far fetched, fat chance, fishy*, hazardous, hazy, iffy*, impugnable, inconclusive,… …   New thesaurus

  • doubtful — late 14c., from DOUBT (Cf. doubt) + FUL (Cf. ful). Related: Doubtfully; doubtfulness …   Etymology dictionary

  • doubtful — ► ADJECTIVE 1) uncertain. 2) not known with certainty. 3) improbable. DERIVATIVES doubtfully adverb doubtfulness noun …   English terms dictionary

  • doubtful — [[t]da͟ʊtfʊl[/t]] 1) ADJ GRADED: usu v link ADJ, oft it v link ADJ that/wh If it is doubtful that something will happen, it seems unlikely to happen or you are uncertain whether it will happen. For a time it seemed doubtful that he would move at… …   English dictionary

  • doubtful — doubt|ful [ˈdautfəl] adj 1.) probably not true or not likely to happen ▪ Prospects for a lasting peace remain doubtful. it is doubtful if/whether ▪ It was doubtful whether the patient would survive the operation. it is doubtful that ▪ It is… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

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