beyond a shadow of a doubt

English

Alternative forms

• beyond a shadow of doubt
• beyond the shadow of a doubt
• without a shadow of a doubt

Etymology

From shadow of a doubt.

Pronunciation

• Audio (Mid-Atlantic)

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Prepositional phrase

beyond a shadow of a doubt

1. Without any doubt or hesitation at all.

   I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that my sister would want to go to the concert.

   • 1945 April 16, Harry S. Truman, 10:06 from the start, in MP72-20 President Roosevelt’s Funeral and Procession; Truman – New President of U.S.‎^[1], Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives Identifier: 595162:

     So that there can be no possible misunderstanding, both Germany and Japan can be certain beyond any shadow of a doubt that America will continue to fight for freedom until no vestige of resistance remains. Our demand has been and it remains unconditional surrender.

Translations

without any doubt or hesitation

• Chinese:

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

• Dutch: zonder twijfel, ongetwijfeld (nl)
• Esperanto: sen ia ombro da dubo, sen ombro de dubo
• Finnish: ilman pienintäkään epäilystä, ilman epäilyksen häivääkään
• French: sans l’ombre d’un doute (fr)
• German: ohne den Hauch eines Zweifels
• Italian: senza ombra di dubbio
• Polish: bez cienia wątpliwości (pl)
• Portuguese: sem sombra de dúvida
• Spanish: sin sombra de duda, sin lugar a dudas
• Welsh: heb os nac oni bai

Further reading

• “without beyond a shadow of a doubt” in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Longman.
• “beyond without a shadow of a doubt” (US) / “beyond without a shadow of a doubt” (UK) in Macmillan English Dictionary.
• “beyond a shadow of a doubt”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.