doubtless

English

Alternative forms

• doutless (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English douteles, dowteles, equivalent to doubt +‎ -less.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdaʊ̯tləs/
• IPA^(key): /ˈdʌʊ̯tləs/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Adjective

doubtless (not comparable)

1. Characterized by or experiencing no doubt at all, certain; undoubted; undoubting.
   • 1880, B. Stewart and P. G. Tait, The Unseen Universe, Macmillan (London), p. xiii:

     There are those who have doubtless faith in revelation.

   • 1927, Edgar Rice Burroughs, chapter 7, in The Outlaw of Torn:

     It is doubtless that the old reprobate who sued for his daughter's hand heard some unsavory truths from the man.

2. (obsolete) Free from fear or suspicion.
   • (Can we date this quote by Shakespeare and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     Pretty child, sleep doubtless and secure.

Derived terms

• doubtlessness

Translations

characterized by no doubt

• Bulgarian: несъмнено (bg) (nesǎmneno), безспорно (bg) (bezsporno), сигурно (bg) (sigurno)
• Czech: nepochybný
• German: zweifelsfrei (de), zweifellos (de)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Polish: bez wątpliwości
• Russian: несомне́нный (ru) (nesomnénnyj)
• Spanish: indudable, sin duda (es)
• Swedish: tveklös (sv)

Adverb

doubtless (not comparable)

1. Without doubt; very probably, in all likelihood; doubtlessly.
   • 1893, Ambrose Bierce, "The Realm Of The Unreal":

     I cannot remember that I spoke a word, though doubtless I did.

   • 1900, L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz:

     The men, Dorothy thought, were about as old as Uncle Henry, for two of them had beards. But the little woman was doubtless much older. Her face was covered with wrinkles, her hair was nearly white, and she walked rather stiffly.

   • 2017 June 26, Alexis Petridis, “Glastonbury 2017 verdict: Radiohead, Foo Fighters, Lorde, Stormzy and more”, in the Guardian‎^[1]:

     Thom Yorke’s onstage pronouncements became less abstract and more effusive, they played the songs the less committed audience members doubtless wanted to hear in the first place: Paranoid Android, Creep, Fake Plastic Trees and Karma Police. At the end of the latter, Yorke happily led an audience singalong.

Synonyms

• indubitably, undoubtedly, unquestionably, without a doubt, indisputably

Derived terms

• doubtlessly

Translations

without question

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: ^{(please verify)} 毫無疑問／毫无疑问 (háowúyíwèn), ^{(please verify)} 毫无疑问 (zh) (háowúyíwèn)

• Danish: utvivlsomt
• Dutch: zonder twijfel
• Finnish: epäilemättä (fi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• French: sans aucun doute (fr), sans nul doute (fr), indubitablement (fr)
• German: zweifellos (de)
• Spanish: indudablemente (es)
• Swedish: utan tvivel, tveklöst (sv), utan tvivel

References

• “doubtless”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.