Word of the Day:

October 20, 2023

dubious

adjective DOO-bee-us

What it Means

A dubious person lacks a definite opinion or is doubtful about something; this sense of the word is usually used with about.

Dubious can also describe something that causes doubt, uncertainty, or suspicion. In phrases like “dubious honor” and “dubious distinction” it functions ironically to describe something bad or undesirable as if it were an honor or achievement.

// I was dubious about the chances that our gamble would pay off.

// Jesse made the dubious claim that he could eat a whole watermelon in one sitting; then we sat in awe and watched him do it.

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Dubious in Context

“A professional thrift shopper claims that a rare assortment of VHS tapes could help people pay off their debt—and now her video is going viral. ... She goes on to cite such tapes as a 1983 VHS of ‘Rocky,’ a 1986 VHS of ‘Back to the Future,’ the first three ‘Chucky’ movies and a first print VHS of ‘Star Wars’—all of which sold, she claims, for thousands of dollars in ‘legitimate’ eBay sales. However, many TikTok commenters were dubious of these listings and their sales.” — Cassie Morris, InTheKnow.com, 8 Sept. 2023

More example sentences

Did You Know?

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.

Test Your Vocabulary

Can you think of a piscine word that is a synonym of the sense of dubious meaning “creating doubt or suspicion”? Hint: it can also describe a particular kind of strong smell.

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