dubious
Americanadjective
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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.
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wavering or hesitating in opinion; inclined to doubt.
adjective
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marked by or causing doubt
a dubious reply
-
unsettled in mind; uncertain; doubtful
-
of doubtful quality; untrustworthy
a dubious reputation
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not certain in outcome
Related Words
See doubtful.
Other Word Forms
- dubiously adverb
- dubiousness noun
- superdubious adjective
- superdubiously adverb
- superdubiousness noun
- undubious adjective
- undubiously adverb
- undubiousness noun
Etymology
Origin of dubious
First recorded in 1540–50; from Latin dubius; doubt ( def. )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"We chose to stay in Bulgaria, but not in a Bulgaria of dubious dealings," the 20-year-old added.
From Barron's
By the time Hamilton met them, Angelica was already married to an entrepreneurial Englishman of dubious character; the younger, less-flamboyant Eliza quickly formed a passionate bond with the scrappy, brilliant future U.S.
But female guests don’t have their phones or any other resources that might help them formulate informed responses or fact-check Atlas’s dubious statistics.
From Salon
He seems to find it dubious that the treaty that ceded this land will bring about lasting peace.
From Los Angeles Times
Here’s the real joke: Simons was an antiwar mathematician who thought capitalism was morally dubious.
From MarketWatch
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
