[Vocabulary] no doubt - swan vs. all other sources

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tom3m

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Hello, I have just found an interesting entry in Swan's Practical English Usage. It is about the the phrase 'no doubt'. In the book you find literally: No doubt means 'probably' or 'I suppose', not 'certainly'. Example: No doubt it'll rain soon. It seemed strange so I decided to search a bit and literally on every website, people said it is used when you are absolutely sure, which is in contradiction with Swan. What is the truth?
 

Chicken Sandwich

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Longman is in agreement with Swan.

2 no doubt used when you are saying that you think something is probably true : No doubt you’ll have your own ideas.
She was a top student, no doubt about it (= it is certainly true ) .

http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/doubt_1
 

tom3m

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Longman is in agreement with Swan.

2 no doubt used when you are saying that you think something is probably true : No doubt you’ll have your own ideas.
She was a top student, no doubt about it (= it is certainly true ) .

http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/doubt_1


To be quite honest, I am absolutely confused. Does 'no doubt' mean something different than 'no doubt about'?

Even by thinking about the sentence you quoted:No doubt you’ll have your own ideas. - NO (expressing negative) - DOUBTS (a feeling of unCERTAINTY - you'll have your own ideas ( the rest of the sentence is just confirming the fact that is certain that you will have your own ideas - who wouldn't have their own ideas? - It's certain)

MACMILLAN ONLINE DICTIONARY:

no doubt



In the first one, the certainty is also mentioned.
:?:

And apart from your sources:
What does no doubt mean? - Yahoo! Answers - saying you are 100% sure

What does no doubt mean? definition, meaning and pronunciation (Free English Language Dictionary) - saying the usage of 'no doubt' as an adverb is rare

https://www.usingenglish.com/forum/ask-teacher/43608-what-does-no-doubt-mean.html - Dr. Ibrahim says - 'no doubt' = shortened '
there is no doubt about it'

no doubt - Idioms - by the Free Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia. - certainly is on the first place, the latter definition is probably - BUT Swan says that we do NOT use it for expressing
certainty
Hope you help me :)
 
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Chicken Sandwich

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To be quite honest, I am absolutely confused. Does 'no doubt' mean something different than 'no doubt about'?

I think so.

No doubt about it = you think that something is definitely true.
Without (a) doubt = you think that something is definitely true.
No doubt = you think that something is probably true.
 

tom3m

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I think so.

No doubt about it = you think that something is definitely true.
Without (a) doubt = you think that something is definitely true.
No doubt = you think that something is probably true.

So the sources above are mostly wrong, though written by natives or as a dictionary entry. I am confused because of the number of people saying the opposite of your definiton i.e. no doubt means certainty, but I am going to trust you. :)However, I do not think my teacher would actually belive it. Thanks for your help. :)
 
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