dubious Definition
du·bi·ous (do̵̅o̅′bē əs, dyo̵̅o̅′-)
adjective
- causing doubt; ambiguous; vague a dubious remark
- feeling doubt; hesitating; skeptical
- with the outcome undecided or hanging in the balance dubious battle
- rousing suspicion; questionable; shady a dubious character
Etymology: L dubiosus, doubtful < dubius, doubting, uncertain < du- < or akin to duo, two + IE base *bhu-, *bheu-, to be
dubious Related Forms
dubious Synonyms
dubious
modif.
Doubtful
hesitant, skeptical, indecisive; see doubtful 2, suspicious 1.Vague
ambiguous, indefinite, unclear; see doubtful 1, obscure 1, questionable 1.Arousing suspicion
questionable, suspect, shady*; see questionable 2, suspicious 2. See syn. study at doubtful.
dubious Usage Examples
Preposition: about
idea: Steve tells Catherine he wants to plead manslaughter on grounds of temporary insanity, but she looks dubious about the idea.
Infinitive complement
say: The anthropology and ecology are dubious to say the least.
Modifies a noun
- legality: In order to pay for his government he had to collect all sorts of taxes that were of dubious legality.
- distinction: Canada now has the dubious distinction of having the second highest crime rate in the Western world.
- honor: She has the dubious honor of being the only female werewolf in the world.
- provenance: In a world awash in information of dubious provenance, whom can you trust to tell you the truth?
- accolade: That dubious accolade goes to the nearby city of Durham.
- honor: But I just may hold the dubious honor of the all time greatest moment in club breaking history.
Modifying Another Word
- morally: Third, the use of cluster bombs seems morally dubious.
- ethically: The ethically dubious world of patent medicines was born, " says Jerry Brotton, in The Renaissance Bazaar, pp.
- somewhat: A somewhat dubious moral structure to the game then.
- rather: For example, a rather dubious adult website managed to get a PageRank of 10.
- distinctly: The little priest rose with a distinctly dubious grimace.
- highly: Even the linesman got in on the act with a highly dubious offside against Cox.
Used with adjective complement
- seem: In any event even the IP address request seems dubious.
- remain: Judging by the council league tables, some success is being achieved although the public remain dubious.
- look: Steve tells Catherine he wants to plead manslaughter on grounds of temporary insanity, but she looks dubious about the idea.
- sound: A lot of the other issues raised certainly sound somewhat dubious at best.
- consider: For example, relationships where there is a significant power differential are considered dubious, and sexual violence is not publicly tolerated.
- become: If a staunch unreconstructed Thatcherite gets in, the future of people like Clarke and Patten in the Tory party becomes dubious.
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