Doubt"ance (?), n. [OF. doutance. Cf. Dubitancy.] State of being in doubt; uncertainty; doubt. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Doubt"er (?), n. One who doubts; one whose opinion is unsettled; one who scruples.
Doubt"ful (?), a. 1. Not settled in opinion; undetermined; wavering; hesitating in belief; also used, metaphorically, of the body when its action is affected by such a state of mind; as, we are doubtful of a fact, or of the propriety of a measure.
Methinks I should know you, and know this man;
Yet I am doubtful.
Shak.
With doubtful feet and wavering resolution.
Milton.
<! p. 448 !>
2. Admitting of doubt; not obvious, clear, or certain; questionable; not decided; not easy to be defined, classed, or named; as, a doubtful case, hue, claim, title, species, and the like.
Beauty is but a vain and doubtful good.
Shak.
Is it a great cruelty to expel from our abode the enemy of our peace, or even the doubtful friend [i. e., one as to whose sincerity there may be doubts]?
Bancroft.
3. Characterized by ambiguity; dubious; as, a doubtful expression; a doubtful phrase.