dubious
[doo-bee-uh s, dyoo-]
- doubtful; marked by or occasioning doubt: a dubious reply.
- of doubtful quality or propriety; questionable: a dubious compliment; a dubious transaction.
- of uncertain outcome: in dubious battle.
- wavering or hesitating in opinion; inclined to doubt.
Origin of dubious
Synonyms
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com1. equivocal, ambiguous, obscure, unclear. 4. undecided, uncertain, hesitant, fluctuating.
Synonym study
4. See doubtful.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for dubious
Contemporary Examples
Domestically, the prime minister maintains the dubious line that he is the only man who can keep the still-fragile peace.
Krivov was arrested in October 2012, on the dubious charges of participation in “mass riots.”
Behind Bars for the Holidays: 11 Political Prisoners We Want to See Free In 2015Movements.Org
December 25, 2014
We kindly inform these little jokers with the dubious jokes that they risk judicial proceedings they may not find funny at all.
The Louisiana university has turned into a nanny state, issuing a campus smoking ban of dubious legality.
The British detectives have since interviewed countless witnesses and cleared a number of dubious suspects in the case.
Historical Examples
"I don't know exactly," replied the doctor in a dubious tone.
Weighed and WantingGeorge MacDonald
"Why—I've never worn a low dress—not really low," I said, longing but dubious.
The Bacillus of BeautyHarriet Stark
Better that he had been still silent, than speak that dubious, indecisive "Y—es."
The ChanningsMrs. Henry Wood
Mr. Cruncher was soothed, but shook his head in a dubious and moral way.
A Tale of Two CitiesCharles Dickens
They liked him, but they were dubious of his right to represent the Tory spirit.
Changing WindsSt. John G. Ervine
dubious
- marked by or causing doubta dubious reply
- unsettled in mind; uncertain; doubtful
- of doubtful quality; untrustworthya dubious reputation
- not certain in outcome
Word Origin
C16: from Latin dubius wavering
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for dubious
adj.
1540s, from Latin dubiosus "doubtful," from dubium "doubt," neuter of dubius "vacillating, moving two ways, fluctuating;" figuratively "wavering in opinion, doubting, doubtful," from duo "two" (see two), with a sense of "of two minds, undecided between two things." Old English also used tweo "two" to mean "doubt." Cf. doubt (v.). Related: Dubiously; dubiousness.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper