dubious

adjective du·bi·ous \ ˈdü-bē-əs also dyü- \

Definition of dubious

1 :giving rise to uncertainty: such as

a :of doubtful promise or outcome

a dubious plan

b :questionable or suspect as to true nature or quality

the practice is of dubious legality

2 :unsettled in opinion :doubtful

I was dubious about the plan.

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dubiously

adverb

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dubiousness

noun

See dubious defined for English-language learners

See dubious defined for kids

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Examples of dubious in a Sentence

The recent rumbles and ruptures in the financial markets are finally making people reassess the dubious systems of credit that have arisen in the past few years. —William Safire, New York Times Magazine, 19 Aug. 2007
Thus, the translation of the Latin word biographus as "a biography," and the limitation of "biographies" to written, printed histories of men, was perhaps inevitable. Poor Dryden was given the dubious honor of being the first to use the generic term—despite the fact that his phrase had been taken out of the context of biographical compilers, in a discussion of Plutarch. —Nigel Hamilton, Biography, 2007
That indeed is the crux of the matter. Today especially, when community-oriented policing is being introduced everywhere, it seems not only ethically dubious but self-defeating to engage in practices that at their best undermine trust and cooperation between citizens and law-enforcement officials and at their worst foster cynicism toward our legal system. —Edwin Dobb, Harper's, May 2002
To avoid fees, the new "relationship" minimum for checking accounts jumped from $2000 to as much as $6000. And what would customers get in exchange? The ability to take advantage of such a dubious new benefit as a consolidated monthly statement. —Consumer Reports, March 1996
He made the highly dubious claim that Elvis is still alive and living in Hawaii.
a man of dubious character

Recent Examples of dubious from the Web

Gorka was controversial for his ties to a dubious Hungarian organization and for his inflammatory anti-Muslim views.

— david a. graham, The Atlantic, "Commander in Chaos," 25 Aug. 2017
Moreover, Idaho’s workforce earned the dubious recognition of having the highest percentage of workers in the country — 7.7 percent — earning minimum wage in 2012.

— bill roberts, idahostatesman, "As Boise State grows, students face rising tuition and debt. Is BSU still affordable?," 25 Aug. 2017
Goop, Gwyneth Paltrow’s lifestyle website and one of the nation’s leading advocates for sticking expensive rocks up your vagina, has been regularly criticized for its dubious wellness advice.

— madeleine aggeler, The Cut, "Consumer Watchdog Group Calls Out Goop for ‘Deceptive’ Claims," 24 Aug. 2017
In Dubious Battle centers around apple pickers during the labor movement in California during the 1930s.

— leanna commins, Cosmopolitan, "Watch Selena Gomez Give Birth in James Franco's Most Recent Movie," 15 Aug. 2017
Youth notwithstanding, the case could be made that Justin Thomas became the best player without a major championship once Sergio Garcia shed that dubious distinction at Augusta National in April.

— tim sullivan, The Courier-Journal, "Justin Thomas' PGA Championship puts him with other big hitters on tour | Tim Sullivan," 14 Aug. 2017
Gomez followed this up with the musical drama Rudderless (2014) , Paul Rudd's film The Fundamentals of Caring, and In Dubious Battle (2016), which also starred James Franco.

— christopher rosa, Glamour, "Selena Gomez and Elle Fanning Are Starring in Woody Allen's Next Movie," 8 Aug. 2017
Donald Trump’s speech in front of law enforcement officials last Friday was littered with dubious claims.

— sean mesidor, Essence.com, "Donald Trump Lies About A Lot Of Things, But This One Went Too Far," 4 Aug. 2017
McCain gave a speech impugning Republican senators for their dubious process in getting their health care bill to a vote — and then voted for the overhaul.

— robert newhouse, Teen Vogue, "5 Problematic Things Senator John McCain Has Done During His 35-year Career in Politics," 27 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dubious.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

There's No Uncertainty Around The Definition of dubious

Dubious derives from the Latin verb dubare, meaning "to hesitate in choice of opinions or courses," and it is related to the Latin word for "two": duo. Dubious can be used to indicate uncertainty about the result of an action or the truth of a statement as well as about the uncertainty of a person and his or her character. In either case, it usually implies a feeling of doubt from suspicion, mistrust, or hesitation.

Origin and Etymology of dubious

Latin dubius, from dubare to vacillate; akin to Latin duo two — more at two

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First Known Use: 1548

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dubious Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of dubious

doubtful, dubious, problematic, questionable mean not affording assurance of the worth, soundness, or certainty of something. doubtful implies little more than a lack of conviction or certainty.

- doubtful about whether I said the right thing

dubious stresses suspicion, mistrust, or hesitation.

- dubious about the practicality of the scheme

problematic applies especially to things whose existence, meaning, fulfillment, or realization is highly uncertain.

- whether the project will ever be finished is problematic

questionable may imply no more than the existence of doubt but usually suggests that the suspicions are well-grounded.

- a man of questionable honesty

DUBIOUS Defined for English Language Learners

dubious

adjective

Definition of dubious for English Language Learners

: unsure or uncertain : feeling doubt about something
: causing doubt, uncertainty, or suspicion : likely to be bad or wrong
—used ironically in phrases like dubious honor and dubious distinction to describe something bad or undesirable as if it were an honor or achievement