dubious

adjective

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du·bi·ous | \ ˈdü-bē-əs

also dyü- \

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

Other Words from dubious Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym There's No Uncertainty Around the Definition of Dubious More Example Sentences Learn More about dubious

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Choose the Right Synonym for 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

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 on the Web Ben Valdez, who has driven for Uber for four years, is dubious that any development by the company will benefit drivers. — Amrita Khalid, Quartz, "Uber’s fare-setting experiment in California could cost drivers," 22 Jan. 2020 What’s clear is that Schofield is dubious about the mission and resentful of Blake for choosing him as his partner. — Richard Brody, The New Yorker, "The Beauty of Sam Mendes’s “1917” Comes at a Cost," 7 Jan. 2020 The Twins aren’t the only team to make dubious history this October. — Kevin Cusick, Twin Cities, "Twins’ playoff record adds to Minnesota’s postseason infamy," 5 Oct. 2019 But studying them is challenging, with results often inconclusive, dubious or failing to meet the right criteria to satisfy various health agencies. — NBC News, "Teen's cancer uncovers a mystery in one North Carolina town: Why here?," 2 Jan. 2020 Virginia all lost to unranked teams, with UK’s loss to Evansville by far the most dubious. — Hayes Gardner, The Courier-Journal, "Morning Coffee: Is it just us, or is this college basketball season particularly crazy?," 17 Dec. 2019 There are several reasons why the ABA’s attacks on VanDyke are either dubious or absurd. — John Mccormack, National Review, "Smearing Lawrence VanDyke," 13 Dec. 2019 The kind of misinformation that resulted in Zhe Zhe’s death is unlikely to be caught as dubious by any social media bot or algorithm. — Wired, "The Influencer Scientists Debunking Online Misinformation," 13 Nov. 2019 Use good judgement to sidestep dubious schemes and instead focus your energies on creating your dreams using your own knowledge and skills. — Tribune Content Agency, oregonlive.com, "Horoscope for Aug. 17, 2019: Aries, not a good time for risky endeavors; Libra, don’t be mislead by wishful thinking," 17 Aug. 2019

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.