dubious

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

|Updated on: 2 Aug 2018

Tip: Synonym Guide

Examples: dubious in a Sentence

Editor's Note: There's No Uncertainty Around The Definition of dubious

Definition of dubious

1 : unsettled in opinion : doubtful

I was dubious about the plan.

2 : 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

—

dubiously

adverb

—

dubiousness

noun

See dubious defined for English-language learners

See dubious defined for kids

dubious was our Word of the Day on 07/25/2015. Hear the podcast!

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

John Scardino, 58, a high school teacher from the United States who has lived in Britian for 18 years and will be at Friday’s protests in London, is dubious that the embassy alert would have any effect on crowd size.

— karla adam, Washington Post, "Keep your heads down, U.S. embassy warns Americans ahead of London Trump visit," 11 July 2018
Now all that was left was a dubious glide ratio and the promise of an open field.

— caroline paul, Outside Online, "Caroline Paul on Her First Emergency Landing," 11 July 2018
Those activities earned him a dubious spot on a list recently compiled for the county's Department of Human Assistance.

— cynthia hubert, sacbee, "This man cost Sacramento County more in one year than any other homeless person," 8 July 2018
As hate speech and dubious articles quickly began to surface in volume on Facebook in 2012 and 2013, many targeting Muslims and the Rohingya in particular, the government raised concerns that the site could be used to incite unrest.

— timothy mclaughlin, WIRED, "How Facebook’s Rise Fueled Chaos and Confusion in Myanmar," 6 July 2018
Many people, including yours truly, were dubious when the Pelicans signed Rondo.

— jeff duncan, NOLA.com, "This Pelicans' season has been one of redemption for Dell Demps," 8 May 2018
Algeria refused the dubious honor, as did multiple other countries.

— lori hinnant, The Christian Science Monitor, "Algeria stops expelling migrants into Sahara after pushback," 13 July 2018
While his defensive contributions and overall decision-making can be dubious, a player like Green who has playoff experience, some juice left in the tank and can offer just enough floor-spacing and size should prove useful to the Wizards.

— jeremy woo, SI.com, "Grades: If Wizards' Locker Room Survives, Dwight Howard and Jeff Green Are Worthy Gambles," 3 July 2018
The number was considered by some advocates and the press to be dubious, especially given recent revelations that the city had fudged lead paint inspections in public housing units for years.

— anne branigin, The Root, "New York City Finally Admits that More than 800 Kids Living in Public Housing Tested High for Lead," 2 July 2018

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1548

in the meaning defined at sense 2

See Words from the same year

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