Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

doubtful

 adjective
     
doubt‧ful
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 doubtful that the missing airmen will ever be found.
2 not sure that something is true or right:
'Everything's going to be all right, you'll see.' Jenny looked doubtful.
doubtful if/whether
I'm still doubtful whether I should accept this job.
doubtful about (doing) something
At first we were doubtful about employing Charlie.
3 unlikely to be successful:
Already the whole scheme was looking increasingly doubtful.
4 probably not good [= dubious]:
Here the tap water is of doubtful quality.
—doubtfully adverb
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

Dictionary pictures of the day
Do you know what each of these is called?
What is the word for picture 1? What is the word for picture 2? What is the word for picture 3? What is the word for picture 4?
Click on any of the pictures above to find out what it is called.

Explore our topic dictionary

Browse the dictionary