Meaning & use
doubting
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“doubting” is a form of “doubt”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
adjectivebefore a noun
Not sure that something is true or will happen, and showing this.
Grammar: Normally comes before a noun, as in doubting looks or a doubting tone.
Patterns
- a doubting look
- a doubting tone
She gave him a doubting look when he promised to be on time.
His doubting tone made me wonder if I had said something wrong.
The doubting crowd waited to see if the plan would work.
nouncountablefigurative
The phrase Doubting Thomas, meaning a person who refuses to believe something without seeing proof.
Grammar: Almost always capitalized and used as a fixed phrase, Doubting Thomas.
Patterns
- a Doubting Thomas
My father is a real Doubting Thomas and never trusts online reviews.
The Doubting Thomases on the committee wanted to see test results.
Don't be a Doubting Thomas; it really works.
Common combinations
- doubting look
- His doubting look told her he was not convinced.
- doubting tone
- She asked the question in a doubting tone.
- Doubting Thomas
- He's a Doubting Thomas who needs proof for everything.
- doubting expression
- A doubting expression crossed her face.
- doubting eyes
- The coach watched with doubting eyes.
Synonyms and how they differ
- skeptical
- Skeptical suggests a questioning habit of mind, while doubting simply shows uncertainty in one case.
- dubious
- Dubious often describes the thing you doubt, not the person, as in a dubious claim.
- unconvinced
- Unconvinced says you have not yet been persuaded, and it is less suspicious than doubting.
- distrustful
- Distrustful suggests you doubt a person's honesty, a stronger feeling than doubting.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: doubting or doubtful? doubting or dubious?
doubting vs doubtful
Doubtful can describe the situation as unlikely, while doubting describes the person who feels unsure.
doubting vs dubious
Dubious means suspicious or unreliable, and is often applied to the thing questioned.
Practice
The teacher gave the student a ___ look when he said the dog ate his homework.
Choose one answer.
Doubting is the adjective that describes the teacher's unconvinced look. Doubted is a past-tense verb and doubt and doubts are nouns or verbs that cannot modify look in this way.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “doubting”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.