indubitably

English

WOTD – 16 September 2008

Etymology

Etymology tree

English indubitable

Proto-Indo-European *leyg-der.

Proto-Germanic *līkąder.

Proto-Germanic *-līkaz

Proto-Germanic *-ê

Proto-Germanic *-līkê

Proto-West Germanic *-līkē

Old English -līċe

Middle English -ly

English -ly

English indubitably

From indubitable + -ly.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɪnˈdjuː.bɪ.tə.bli/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ɪnˈdu.bɪ.tə.bli/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Adverb

indubitably (comparative more indubitably, superlative most indubitably)

1. In a manner that leaves no possibility of doubt.

   Synonyms: undoubtably, undoubtedly, doubtlessly, without doubt, without a doubt, unquestionably, indisputably, inarguably, unarguably, undeniably, assuredly, certainly, definitely

   Near-synonyms: verifiably, provably

   • 1871, Thomas Hardy, chapter 18, in Desperate Remedies:

     Now his first suspicion was indubitably confirmed.

   • 1907, William James, Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking:

     The world is indubitably one if you look at it in one way, but as indubitably is it many, if you look at it in another. It is both one and many—let us adopt a sort of pluralistic monism.

   • 1913, Arthur Conan Doyle, “(please specify the page)”, in The Poison Belt […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:

     They were all indubitably, aggressively alive! Everybody was alive once more!

Usage notes

Currently often used as a humorous interjection, particularly in American English, and seen as somewhat affected, if not outright haughty or campy. Compare this use by comedy cartoon Goofy Gophers (US, 1947–65).

Related terms

• dubious
• dubiously
• indubitable (adjective)

Translations

Undoubtedly; unquestionably

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 毫無疑問 / 毫无疑问 (zh) (háowúyíwèn)

• Dutch: ongetwijfeld (nl), zonder twijfel f
• Finnish: epäilemättä (fi), kiistattomasti
• French: indubitablement (fr)
• German: unzweifelhaft (de)
• Hindi: निस्संदेह (hi) (nissandeh)
• Icelandic: ótvíræðlega, óhrekjanlega
• Ido: nedubiteble (io)
• Latin: haud dubiē
• Polish: bez wątpienia (pl)
• Russian: несомне́нно (ru) (nesomnénno), безусловно (ru) (bezuslovno)
• Spanish: indubitablemente
• Swedish: utan tvivel, otvivelaktigt (sv)

See also

• sure thing

References

• “indubitably”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “indubitably”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
• Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., 1989.