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There's No Uncertainty Around the Definition of Dubious
Pop music pop quiz—which musical act had a hit with the song “Ooby Dooby”: 1950s rock-and-roll legend Roy Orbison or 1970s soft rock groovers the Doobie Brothers? Perhaps you’re dubious that the Doobies would do “Ooby Dooby.” Too obvious. On the other hand, Orbison may represent the more dubious choice if you’re an “Ooby Dooby” newbie. Regardless of which way you waffle, however, we think you’ll appreciate dubious as a word that does double duty, meaning both “uncertain or doubtful” (as in “dubious that the Doobies would do…”) and “giving rise to uncertainty as to outcome, quality, or nature” (as in “dubious choice”). And we know without a doubt that dubious comes from the Latin verb dubare, meaning “to hesitate in choice of opinions or courses,” which in turn shares roots with the Latin word duo, meaning “two.” Oh, and if you’re still of two minds about our music quiz, the answer is Orbison.
Examples of dubious in a Sentence
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
Chris Stirewalt, The Hill, 20 June 2025
The inconsistency of the geographical settings goes hand in hand with the how their American protagonists are depicted as inept operators whose heroism is ambiguous
Soon after his arrival in Saigon, Andrews mistakes an advertisement for a dubious massage parlor as a clue from a local contact.
—H.m.a. Leow, JSTOR Daily, 18 June 2025
Pair that with a Republican reconciliation bill that increases tax giveaways while refusing to rein in even the most dubious Medicaid expansions, and the message is unmistakable: Washington is still in giveaway mode.
—Fatima Hussein, Los Angeles Times, 18 June 2025
Since then, a gaggle of dubious doctors has worked to bolster the credibility of deworming drugs within alternative medicine and anti-vaccine circles.
—Benjamin Mazer, The Atlantic, 17 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for dubious
Cite this Entry
“Dubious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dubious. Accessed 1 Jul. 2025.
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dubious
adjective
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