English → Latin
“doubtful” in Latin
dubiusMoving in two directions alternately, vibrating to and fro, fluctuating, wavering; Vacillating in mind, wavering, uncertincertusuncertain, doubtful, not sure, unsure; not knowing, doubting (said of persons); not known, obscure (said of things)dubitōto waver (in opinion), be uncertain, doubt, question, be in doubt; to waver (in coming to a decision), hesitate, delay; animuslife, life force, soul, vitality (that life-giving aspect which animates a thing); conscience, intellect, mind, reason,
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
doubtful
I. Subjective, of persons, dubius (when one does not know what to choose): incertus (when one does not know what conclusion to draw, or what resolution to take): to be doubtful, dubium esse; in dubio esse; dubitare; incertum esse; animo or animi pendere. I am doubtful what to do, dubius, or incertus, sum, quid faciam; incertum mihi est, or in incerto habeo, quid faciam; dubius, or incertus, sum, utrum - an; non satis mihi constat, ... ne (appended) ... an.
II. Objective; that occasions doubt, dubius: incertus: anceps: ambiguus (dubius and ambiguus denote doubt with reference to success or failure; good or bad luck, etc.; anceps, with reference to the very existence of a thing; e.g., bellum dubia et interdum ancipiti fortuna gestum, Döderlein; ambiguus also refers to trustworthiness; e.g., homo ambigua fide; homo ambigui ingenii): doubtful cases, ea quae dubitationem afferunt: to be doubtful, incertum or dubium esse; non constare: to leave a thing doubtful, aliquid in medio, in dubio, in incerto relinquere: to become doubtful, in dubium venire.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for doubtful?
- The usual Latin words for “doubtful” are dubius, incertus, dubitō; also animus. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.