DOUBT Definition & Meaning

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doubt

[ dout ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

verb (used with object)

to be uncertain about; consider questionable or unlikely; hesitate to believe:
The police have good reason to doubt his alibi.
Synonyms: , ,
to distrust; regard with suspicion:
I doubted the salesman, so we decided to check with other dealers.
Synonyms: , ,
Archaic. to fear; be apprehensive about.

verb (used without object)

to be uncertain about something; be undecided in opinion or belief:
The priest told me that it was normal to doubt, but encouraged me to nurture my faith.

noun

a feeling of uncertainty about the truth, reality, or nature of something:
We all had our doubts about your mysterious Canadian girlfriend since no one has ever seen her in person.
Synonyms: ,
distrust or suspicion:
Voters naturally held some doubt about the abrupt change in policy direction issued by city hall.
a general feeling of uncertainty, worry, or concern: Set your doubts aside, and listen to my business idea with an open mind.
As soon as I'd dropped out of school to become a full-time musician, I was full of doubt—what if I’d made a terrible mistake?
Set your doubts aside, and listen to my business idea with an open mind.
a state of affairs such as to occasion uncertainty.
Obsolete. fear; dread.

doubt

/ �岹ʊ�� /

noun

uncertainty about the truth, fact, or existence of something (esp in the phrases in doubt, without doubt, beyond a shadow of doubt, etc)
often plural lack of belief in or conviction about something
all his doubts about the project disappeared
an unresolved difficulty, point, etc
philosophy the methodical device, esp in the philosophy of Descartes, of identifying certain knowledge as the residue after rejecting any proposition which might, however improbably, be false
obsolete.
fear
give someone the benefit of the doubt
to presume someone suspected of guilt to be innocent; judge leniently
no doubt
almost certainly

verb

tr; may take a clause as object to be inclined to disbelieve
I doubt we are late
tr to distrust or be suspicious of
he doubted their motives
intr to feel uncertainty or be undecided
tr; may take a clause as object to be inclined to believe
archaic.
tr to fear
I wouldn't doubt someone
I would expect nothing else from someone

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Usage Note

Doubt and doubtful may be followed by a subordinate clause beginning with that, whether, or if: I doubt that (or whether or if ) the story is true. It is doubtful that (or whether or if ) the story is true. There is some doubt that (or whether or if ) the story is true. In negative or interrogative sentences, that almost always introduces the subordinate clause: I do not doubt that the story is true. Is it doubtful that the story is true? Is there any doubt that the story is true? The expressions doubt but and doubt but that occur in all varieties of standard speech and writing: I don't doubt but she is sincere. There is no doubt but that the charges will affect his career. Doubt but what occurs mainly in informal speech and writing: There is no doubt but what the rainy weather will hurt the crops.

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Usage

Where a clause follows doubt in a positive sentence, it was formerly considered correct to use whether ( I doubt whether he will come ), but now if and that are also acceptable. In negative statements, doubt is followed by that: I do not doubt that he is telling the truth. In such sentences, but ( I do not doubt but that he is telling the truth ) is redundant

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Derived Forms

ˈ��ǳܲ��ٲ��, adverb
ˈ��ǳܲ��پ��Բ��, adverb
ˈ��ǳܲ��ٱ��, noun
ˈ��ǳܲ��ٲ��, adjective

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Other �y��vlog Forms

��ǳܲ��·��·�� adjective
��ǳܲ��·��·�� adverb
��ǳܲ��·�� noun
��ǳܲ��·��Բ�·�� adverb
��ǳܲ��·��Բ�·�Ա�� noun
non·��ǳܲ��·��·�� adjective
non·��ǳܲ��·�� noun
�Դǲ�·��ǳܲ��·��Բ� adjective
non·��ǳܲ��·��Բ�·�� adverb
��·��·��ǳܲ�� verb (used with object)
��·��ǳܲ�� noun verb
pre·��ǳܲ��·�� noun
un·��ǳܲ��·��·�� adjective
�ܲ�·��ǳܲ��·��Բ� adjective

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of doubt¹

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English verb douten, duten, doubten, from Old French douter, doter “to doubt, be doubtful,” from Latin ��ܲ�� “to waver, hesitate, be uncertain” (frequentative of Old Latin ��ܲ�� ), equivalent to dub- “doubt” + -it- frequentative suffix + -�� infinitive suffix; noun derivative of the verb. The -b- first appears between 1420–30 in imitation of Latin dubit-

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of doubt¹

C13: from Old French douter, from Latin ��ܲ��

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Idioms and Phrases

beyond a / the shadow of a doubt, with certainty; definitely. Also beyond a doubt, beyond doubt.
in doubt, in a state of uncertainty or suspense:
His appointment to the position is still in doubt.
no doubt,
1. probably.
2. certainly:
  There is no doubt an element of truth in what you say.
without doubt, unquestionably; certainly.

More idioms and phrases containing doubt

see beyond a doubt ; cast doubt on ; give the benefit of the doubt ; no doubt ; shadow of a doubt .

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Speaking to the BBC, Mr Hartley said he had doubts over whether the allegations made by victims against Savile were true.

From

Early on, she had been unsure if she was pregnant, but there were no doubts from around five months in.

From

There is no doubt that Journalism is an odd name for a horse in a sport that seems more suspicious of the media than embracing it.

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No doubt, but Social Security has operated relatively efficiently for nearly a century, keeping millions out of poverty, and Musk’s claims of widespread fraud have not been backed up.

From

Her doubts began, she said, after attending a live "Girls Gone Bible" event in Tampa, Florida.

From

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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