apocryphal
/əˈpɑkɹəfəɫ/
adjective(of a statement or story) unlikely to be authentic, even though it is widely believed to be true
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Examples
1. It's considered New Testament apocryphal writings.
2. It's not apocryphal.
3. However, this quote is almost definitely apocryphal.
4. A lot of this may be apocryphal.
5. A possible fourth form of closure, at a meta-fictional level, would be that the defeat of Avellaneda's apocryphal Quixote.
a question mark hang over sth
/ɐ kwˈɛstʃən mˈɑːɹk hˈæŋ ˌoʊvɚ ˌɛstˌiːˈeɪtʃ/
phrasea feeling of uncertainty and doubt about something
Examples
arguable
/ˈɑɹɡjuəbəɫ/
adjectivenot believed to be true and open to question and disagreement
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Examples
1. It’s arguable that this stalemate was never really resolved.
2. - This is arguable the only safe way to eat leftover sushi.
3. Well, that's an arguable statement
4. It's arguable that every age has roughly similar amounts of latent talent among its artists.
5. All right, today's guest is arguable the greatest beach volleyball player the world has ever seen.
(as / ) far as sb know
/æz fˈɑːɹ æz ˌɛsbˈiː nˈoʊ/
phraseused to express one's uncertainty about the statement one has made as there might be something that makes it untrue
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Examples
1. Like, there's no option for live captions as far as I know.
2. Like, there's no option for live captions as far as I know.
3. And as far as you know, there's no role models for you.
4. And as far as you know, there's no role models for you.
5. As far as I know, it’s always been in San Diego.
confusion
/kənˈfjuʒən/
nouna state of being confused and not having a clear understanding of an action, behavior, etc.
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Examples
1. Crowd is confusion.
2. Alibi's strengths are confusion.
3. The spelling of the last syllable can also cause confusion.
4. A competitor with a similar name may inadvertently create confusion.
5. ambiguity implies confusion.
debatable
/dəˈbeɪtəbəɫ/
adjectiveunclear or uncertain because of the involvement of many different opinions
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Examples
1. That's debatable.
2. Baklava's origins are still debatable.
3. It is debatable.
4. Well, the effects of this holocaust of Protestant resistance are debatable.
5. That's debatable.
doubt
/ˈdaʊt/
nouna feeling of uncertainty about something
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Examples
1. In the beginning, Ankit's family and friends doubted his business.
2. Though, some toxicologists doubt the accuracy of these cases.
3. Because part of me doubted the experience.
4. Never ever doubt a woman's intuition.
5. So that second example really showed indecision, uncertainty, doubt.
to doubt
/ˈdaʊt/
verbto not feel certain about something; to think that something is not the case
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Examples
1. In the beginning, Ankit's family and friends doubted his business.
2. Though, some toxicologists doubt the accuracy of these cases.
3. Because part of me doubted the experience.
4. Never ever doubt a woman's intuition.
5. So that second example really showed indecision, uncertainty, doubt.
doubtful
/ˈdaʊtfəɫ/
adjectiveimprobable or unlikely to happen or be the case
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Examples
1. Her husband was doubtful about this.
2. Looks doubtful in there.
3. The result is not doubtful.
4. - I'm doubtful.
5. Are you doubtful?
dubious
/ˈdubiəs/
adjective(of a person) unsure of the credibility of something; uncertain whether or not something is good
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Examples
1. Some of the others, the ministry, their motivations are dubious.
2. Alright, next up from Zelda: Breath of the Wild, we have dubious food.
3. The claims of human-alien cooperation are also dubious at best.
4. The Legion’s summons to Gaul is dubious.
5. The real history of the Trojan War is dubious at best.
halting
/ˈhɔɫtɪŋ/
adjectiveacting or talking with hesitation due to uncertainty or lack of confidence
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Examples
1. And I'll come back at the end to the halting steps towards this just transition, or a socially equitable version of a change in this really critical problem.
2. Actually in 2007 water temperatures in the falls rose to 82 degrees and it killed a bunch of trout there, pretty much halting life.
3. Meanwhile his halting, gauche attempts to seduce women were met by ridicule and rejection.
4. The halting of the Mongol advance at Ayn Jalut by the Mamluks, and the fracturing of the Empire into independent Khanates after Great Khan Mongke’s death, left the new Ilkhanate in a precarious position.
5. But perhaps this method of halting warming would be effective in the far north.
haltingly
/ˈhɔɫtɪŋɫi/
adverb(of speech or movement) in a nervous manner that makes one stutter while speaking or stumble while walking
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Examples
1. (screams haltingly) -
2. For the first time, ever, we are able to haltingly, imperfectly, but at least somewhat look into the functioning of the human brain, and to make that visual, and to make real or more real what is already real but isn't believed to be real.
3. He said, I speak very haltingly in English.
to have half a mind to
/hæv hˈæf ɐ mˈaɪnd tuː/
phraseto say that one will do something even though they might not really intending to
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Examples
1. I have half a mind to tell your parents about this when they get here!
to hesitate
/ˈhɛzəˌteɪt/
verbto pause before saying or doing something because of uncertainty or nervousness
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Examples
1. His father hesitated.
2. Did the woman hesitate?
3. The woman hesitated, not a man.
4. The woman hesitated.
5. The woman hesitated.
hesitation
/ˌhɛzəˈteɪʃən/
nounthe act of pausing before doing or saying something because one feels unsure
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Examples
1. But her mom had some hesitations.
2. - What's her hesitation?
3. Without hesitation, Jake MacKinnon's mother, Janice, selflessly donated her kidney to Kalem's father.
4. Number two: hesitation is bad.
5. - He really said no hesitation.
if
/ˈɪf/, /ɪf/
nounan uncertain possibility or condition
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Examples
1. Surveillance and privacy issues could arise if the central bank is able to monitor every transaction.
2. Some faithful friends of Stalin even admitted to having disloyal thoughts if not deeds, which was adequate sin to justify execution.
3. If the President vetoes a law, Congress, with a two thirds vote in both houses, can override the veto.
4. If you want to see their herniated disc, get an MRI.
5. If the carpet isn’t too dirty, the safer play is probably to just vacuum.
iffy
/ˈɪfi/
adjectivehaving a feeling of uncertainty or doubt toward something
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Examples
1. so the exact wording is iffy.
2. Number 25, our final expression is "Iffy."
3. His finances are iffy.
4. Well her landing zones are pretty iffy.
5. My job is kinda iffy, so.
impossible
/ˌɪmˈpɑsəbəɫ/
adjectivenot able to be or happen; not possible to do
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Examples
1. Throughout history, human behavior seemed impossible to understand.
2. They said it was impossible to know a person's personality by analyzing head bumps.
3. Change is impossible.
4. The heist is impossible.
5. So level three was impossible.
inconclusive
/ˌɪnkənˈkɫusɪv/
adjectivenot producing a clear result or decision
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Examples
1. The first one was inconclusive.
2. The battle in the center between the legionaries and the phalagists was inconclusive.
3. Their findings were inconclusive.
4. The video was inconclusive, all right?
5. The video is inconclusive, alright?
to be (only / just / ) a matter of time
/biː ɐ mˈæɾɚɹ ʌv tˈaɪm/
phraseto certainly happen at some point in the future
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Examples
1. And with millennials dining out 30% more often than other generations, it may just be a matter of time before Sparky joins them for a night out.
2. But some say it's only a matter of time.
3. Some analysts say it's just a matter of time before Amazon finds clever ways to reconfigure its business models and partnerships to comply.
4. But experts agree that it's only a matter of time.
5. Today it may just be a matter of time until one building goes the extra mile.
maybe
/ˈmeɪbi/
adverbused to show that you are uncertain about the occurrence, correctness, or truth of something
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Examples
1. I even wrote a letter to Chris just kind of hoping that maybe the message could be relayed.
2. Maybe I'm ranting on about this too much.
3. Maybe today's grads are at least making more money.
4. Maybe face my fears.
5. Maybe the girl singing had a good voice
there is no question of
/ðɛɹ ɪz nˈoʊ kwˈɛstʃən ʌv/
sentenceused of something that is impossible to happen or cannot be true
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Examples
1. There's no question of that.
2. There was no question of his guilt.
3. For Richard Nixon, there was no question of his devotion to the campaign and his intellect.
4. If we can get that down, if we don't get it there, but we get the numbers so small that there is no question of who actually the WINNER is, I think that'll be HELPFUL, Really Remove a lot of those questions that people might have.
5. It was by NATO, again without the permission of the UN Security Council because the Russians and Chinese were supporting Serbian sides so there was no question of international authorization.
not necessarily
/nˌɑːt nˌɛsɪsˈɛɹəli/
phraseused usually in a response to show that something may not be true
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Examples
1. NOT NECESSARILY TRUE Clauses in the user agreements for social-networking sites set some rules for profiles, but nothing in the agreement says they have to be true.
2. I mean, you don't necessarily have to hurt the guy.
3. I wasn't necessarily energized.
4. Not necessarily drying, but just dry.
5. It would be really cool, I imagine, if a signing deaf person or if it was me, but if I decided to go voice off for the show would catfish as like a hearing person not necessarily as a catfish as a hearing person maybe just never mention it at all.
or what
/ɔːɹ wˈʌt/
phraseused to show one's uncertainty of something
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Examples
1. But if you think people are usually arguing over how these artworks actually look or what they represent, think again.
2. But if you think people are usually arguing over how these artworks actually look or what they represent, think again.
3. One problem is interference, or what psychologists call the "Stroop effect."
4. That night, or what was left of it, I could not sleep.
5. Now can you tell me who or what that woman was?'