The phrase to give the benefit of the doubt means “to believe or trust, when one is uncertain.” Usually we say this about trusting a person—we give a person the benefit of the doubt. The benefit is our trust. The doubt means that we don’t know if we should or should not trust this person. So we choose the kindness of trusting them.
We do not know for sure where this phrase came from. It first appeared in English in the 1800s. It may have come from the legal idea of reasonable doubt, which became well-known during a famous Irish trial for treason in 1798. Reasonable doubt means that we should not say a person is guilty of a crime if we have reasonable (rational) doubts. This idea is also known as innocent until proven guilty, a central idea of modern justice.
To Give the Benefit of the Doubt: More Sentence Examples
- McDonagh gave Cooke the benefit of the doubt.
- So, sorry, this is all too shady to deserve any benefit of the doubt.
- We’ve already given Jake every benefit of the doubt; he must accept responsibility.
- Ordinarily, I make it a policy to give people the benefit of the doubt.
- Nina apologized to Ray for not giving him the benefit of the doubt.