Dubious Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

Synonyms & Antonyms for dubious · debatable, · disputable, · dodgy · [chiefly British], · doubtable, · doubtful, · dubitable, · equivocal, ... Login SignUp Hello, Games&Quizzes Thesaurus WordoftheDay Features BuyingGuide M-WBooks JoinMWU MyWordsMyWords ViewRecents Account LogOut dubious adjective SaveWord du·​bi·​ous |\ˈdü-bē-əs alsodyü-\ Definitionofdubious 1 :unsettledinopinion:doubtful Iwasdubiousabouttheplan. 2 :givingrisetouncertainty:suchas a :ofdoubtfulpromiseoroutcome adubiousplan b :questionableorsuspectastotruenatureorquality thepracticeisofdubiouslegality OtherWordsfromdubious Synonyms&Antonyms ChoosetheRightSynonym There'sNoUncertaintyAroundtheDefinitionofDubious MoreExampleSentences LearnMoreAboutdubious OtherWordsfromdubious dubiously adverb dubiousness noun Synonyms&Antonymsfordubious Synonyms debatable,disputable,dodgy[chieflyBritish],doubtable,doubtful,dubitable,equivocal,fishy,problematic(alsoproblematical),queer,questionable,shady,shaky,suspect,suspicious Antonyms certain,hands-down,incontestable,indisputable,indubitable,questionless,sure,undeniable,undoubted,unproblematic,unquestionable VisittheThesaurusforMore  ChoosetheRightSynonymfordubious doubtful,dubious,problematic,questionablemeannotaffordingassuranceoftheworth,soundness,orcertaintyofsomething.doubtfulimplieslittlemorethanalackofconvictionorcertainty. doubtfulaboutwhetherIsaidtherightthing dubiousstressessuspicion,mistrust,orhesitation. dubiousaboutthepracticalityofthescheme problematicappliesespeciallytothingswhoseexistence,meaning,fulfillment,orrealizationishighlyuncertain. whethertheprojectwilleverbefinishedisproblematic questionablemayimplynomorethantheexistenceofdoubtbutusuallysuggeststhatthesuspicionsarewell-grounded. amanofquestionablehonesty There'sNoUncertaintyAroundtheDefinitionofDubious DubiousderivesfromtheLatinverbdubare,meaning"tohesitateinchoiceofopinionsorcourses,"anditisrelatedtotheLatinwordfor"two":duo.Dubiouscanbeusedtoindicateuncertaintyabouttheresultofanactionorthetruthofastatementaswellasabouttheuncertaintyofapersonandhisorhercharacter.Ineithercase,itusuallyimpliesafeelingofdoubtfromsuspicion,mistrust,orhesitation. ExamplesofdubiousinaSentence Therecentrumblesandrupturesinthefinancialmarketsarefinallymakingpeoplereassessthedubioussystemsofcreditthathaveariseninthepastfewyears. —WilliamSafire,NewYorkTimesMagazine,19Aug.2007 Thus,thetranslationoftheLatinwordbiographusas"abiography,"andthelimitationof"biographies"towritten,printedhistoriesofmen,wasperhapsinevitable.PoorDrydenwasgiventhedubioushonorofbeingthefirsttousethegenericterm—despitethefactthathisphrasehadbeentakenoutofthecontextofbiographicalcompilers,inadiscussionofPlutarch. —NigelHamilton,Biography,2007 Thatindeedisthecruxofthematter.Todayespecially,whencommunity-orientedpolicingisbeingintroducedeverywhere,itseemsnotonlyethicallydubiousbutself-defeatingtoengageinpracticesthatattheirbestunderminetrustandcooperationbetweencitizensandlaw-enforcementofficialsandattheirworstfostercynicismtowardourlegalsystem. —EdwinDobb,Harper's,May2002 Toavoidfees,thenew"relationship"minimumforcheckingaccountsjumpedfrom$2000toasmuchas$6000.Andwhatwouldcustomersgetinexchange?Theabilitytotakeadvantageofsuchadubiousnewbenefitasaconsolidatedmonthlystatement. —ConsumerReports,March1996 HemadethehighlydubiousclaimthatElvisisstillaliveandlivinginHawaii. amanofdubiouscharacter SeeMore RecentExamplesontheWeb Thatdubioushonorgoestohispredecessor,DonaldTrump. — MichaelCollins,USATODAY,21July2022 HongKonghadthedubioushonorofcominginfirstplace,withNewYorkCity,Geneva,LondonandTokyoroundingoutthetopfive. — LilitMarcus,CNN,23June2022 HongKongholdsthedubioushonorofhavingtheworld’smostexpensivegasatthemoment. — ChrisMorris,Fortune,17June2022 HopkintonsecondbasemanScottiPagliucahadthedubioushonorofshatteringasmallLEDscoreboardonthethird-basesideofthestadiumwithaflyball. — BrendanKurie,BostonGlobe.com,29Apr.2022 Thedubioustophonor,bestowedthedaybeforetheOscarsperRazziescustom,wenttothesci-fiactionflickCosmicSin. — LesterFabianBrathwaite,EW.com,1Apr.2022 TheRazzieAwardshaveretractedtheir2021specialcategoryforWorstPerformancebyBruceWillis,despiteinitiallydefendingthedecisiontomoveforwardwiththedubioushonor. — KaiGrady,LosAngelesTimes,31Mar.2022 WiththedubioushonorofbeingthelastgamereleasedbyNintendofortheSNESinAmerica,Kirby’sDreamLand3showsthe16-bitsystematitsabsolutepeak. — PCMAG,25Mar.2022 NoWayHomenowhasthedubioushonorofbeingthefirstfilmtohavebeenrejectedbyBAFTAforbreakingthisrule. — AlexRitman,TheHollywoodReporter,10Jan.2022 SeeMore Theseexamplesentencesareselectedautomaticallyfromvariousonlinenewssourcestoreflectcurrentusageoftheword'dubious.'ViewsexpressedintheexamplesdonotrepresenttheopinionofMerriam-Websteroritseditors.Sendusfeedback. FirstKnownUseofdubious 1548,inthemeaningdefinedatsense2 HistoryandEtymologyfordubious Latindubius,fromdubaretovacillate;akintoLatinduotwo—moreattwo LearnMoreAboutdubious Sharedubious PosttheDefinitionofdubioustoFacebook SharetheDefinitionofdubiousonTwitter TimeTravelerfordubious Thefirstknownuseofdubiouswas in1548 Seemorewordsfromthesameyear ListentoOurPodcastAboutdubious ThememusicbyJoshuaStamper©2006NewJerusalemMusic/ASCAP GetWordoftheDaydeliveredtoyourinbox! SignUp DictionaryEntriesNeardubious dubiosity dubious dubitable SeeMoreNearbyEntries  Statisticsfordubious LastUpdated 30Aug2022 Look-upPopularity CitethisEntry “Dubious.”Merriam-Webster.comDictionary,Merriam-Webster,https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dubious.Accessed30Aug.2022. Style:MLA MLA Chicago APA Merriam-Webster MoreDefinitionsfordubious dubious adjective du·​bi·​ous |\ˈdü-bē-əs ,ˈdyü-\ KidsDefinitionofdubious 1 :causingdoubt:uncertain Ourplansaredubiousatthispoint. 2 :feelingdoubt Iwasdubiousaboutourchances. 3 :questionablesense1 …theyallbegandiscussingdragon-slayingshistorical,dubious,andmythical…—J.R.R.Tolkien,TheHobbit OtherWordsfromdubious dubiously adverb MorefromMerriam-Websterondubious Nglish:TranslationofdubiousforSpanishSpeakers BritannicaEnglish:TranslationofdubiousforArabicSpeakers WORDOFTHEDAY effulgence SeeDefinitionsandExamples» GetWordoftheDaydailyemail! TestYourVocabulary TheGreatBritishVocabularyQuiz NamedafterSirRobertPeel,whatareBritishpolicecalled? Peelheads Robbies Berties Bobbies Testyourvocabularywithour10-questionquiz! TAKETHEQUIZ Adailychallengeforcrosswordfanatics. TAKETHEQUIZ SubscribetoAmerica'slargestdictionaryandgetthousandsmoredefinitionsandadvancedsearch—adfree! 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