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Link to original content: http://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/doubtful
DOUBTFUL Synonyms: 144 Similar and Opposite Words | Merriam-Webster Thesaurus
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Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective doubtful contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of doubtful are dubious, problematic, and questionable. While all these words mean "not affording assurance of the worth, soundness, or certainty of something," doubtful implies little more than a lack of conviction or certainty.

doubtful about whether I said the right thing

When is dubious a more appropriate choice than doubtful?

The words dubious and doubtful are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, dubious stresses suspicion, mistrust, or hesitation.

dubious about the practicality of the scheme

When is it sensible to use problematic instead of doubtful?

While the synonyms problematic and doubtful are close in meaning, problematic applies especially to things whose existence, meaning, fulfillment, or realization is highly uncertain.

whether the project will ever be finished is problematic

When would questionable be a good substitute for doubtful?

While in some cases nearly identical to doubtful, questionable may imply no more than the existence of doubt but usually suggests that the suspicions are well-grounded.

a man of questionable honesty

Examples of doubtful in a Sentence

These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Recent Examples on the Web Nose tackle Vita Vea (knee) is doubtful after being a limited participant on Friday despite not practicing on Wednesday and Thursday. Ryan McFadden, The Denver Post, 20 Sep. 2024 David Johnston, a Torrance resident, raised concerns about the lack of public input on the measure and was doubtful that council members work 40 hours a week on city business. Angie Orellana Hernandez, Los Angeles Times, 18 Oct. 2024 On top of all that, Saints QB Derek Carr is still doubtful, meaning backup Spencer Rattler will once again helm the team. Chris Morris, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2024 Wide receiver Chris Conley was doubtful with an oblique injury. Jerry McDonald, The Mercury News, 4 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for doubtful 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for doubtful
Adjective
  • Election Day is here, but pollsters are increasingly unsure who will win the White House race—and Wall Street is taking no chances either.
    Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 5 Nov. 2024
  • In March, there were more Democrats who were unsure of what the outcome of the election would be, compared to the higher number of Republicans feeling uncertain in YouGov's November poll.
    Jasmine Laws, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024
Adjective
  • Wide receiver Deebo Samuel (rib, oblique) and defensive end Nick Bosa (hip) also will suit up after being listed as questionable and limited in practice.
    Cam Inman, The Mercury News, 10 Nov. 2024
  • What was new and different Friday was that Mack was listed as questionable to play Sunday for the Chargers (5-3) against the Tennessee Titans (2-6) because of a groin injury.
    Elliott Teaford, Orange County Register, 8 Nov. 2024
Adjective
  • And certainly, most visitors from abroad are unlikely to visit a place based solely on a Green Key certificate or GDSI score.
    Christopher Elliott, Forbes, 2 Nov. 2024
  • Rahmani said that Trump is unlikely to favor any such reform.
    Marco Rubio, Newsweek, 2 Nov. 2024
Adjective
  • Biden's energy transition policies face hurdles before a Supreme Court skeptical of federal agency interpretations of the law.
    Ben Geman, Axios, 1 Nov. 2024
  • The idea is to build up a layer of skeptical immunity that makes people less susceptible to the manipulative tools that misinformation also employs.
    Alex Knapp, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2024
Adjective
  • Legitimate news is widely regarded as fake, and dubious news is regarded as real.
    Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 12 Nov. 2024
  • Outside looking in The dubious distinction of being the first team outside the top 12 looking in belongs to No. 13 SMU, who are tied with Miami atop the ACC standings and still control their own destiny of playing their way into the bracket.
    David Close, CNN, 5 Nov. 2024
Adjective
  • Now, as for whether or not Donald Trump is not at all Taylor Swift fan, that's actually debatable.
    Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 11 Sep. 2024
  • While the accuracy of this claim is debatable, scientists and benchmarking organizations such as Model Evaluation and Threat Research seem to support it.
    Charles Towers-Clark, Forbes, 25 Oct. 2024
Adjective
  • Hundreds of 2,500 voter registration forms flagged as suspicious were found to be fraudulent, an official from Pennsylvania's Lancaster County confirmed on Monday.
    Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024
  • Her death, though currently under investigation, is not thought to be suspicious.
    News Desk, Artforum, 5 Nov. 2024
Adjective
  • But the vote’s outcome is uncertain, despite a push from union leadership urging members to accept the offer this time around — and the deal on the table is not significantly different from an offer rejected by nearly two-thirds of membership just over a week ago.
    Andrew Torgan, CNN, 3 Nov. 2024
  • Because the effects of the storms are uncertain, Barclays said before the report that the Fed probably would not read too much into an unusually low October jobs figure.
    Paul Davidson, USA TODAY, 1 Nov. 2024

Thesaurus Entries Near doubtful

Cite this Entry

“Doubtful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/doubtful. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.

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