dubious

pronunciation

How to pronounce dubious in British English: UK [ˈdjuːbiəs]word uk audio image

How to pronounce dubious in American English: US [ˈduːbiəs] word us audio image

  • Adjective:
    fraught with uncertainty or doubt
    open to doubt or suspicion
    not convinced

Word Origin

dubious
dubious: see doubt
dubious (adj.)
1540s, from Latin dubiosus "doubtful," from dubium "doubt," neuter of dubius "vacillating, moving two ways, fluctuating;" figuratively "wavering in opinion, doubting, doubtful," from duo "two" (see two), with a sense of "of two minds, undecided between two things." Old English also used tweo "two" to mean "doubt." Compare doubt (v.). Related: Dubiously; dubiousness.

Example

1. Four rio tinto executives were imprisoned in dubious circumstances .
2. Most attention focused on dubious claims by autocrats that democracy was not among them .
3. The film stresses how societies at war nurture perverse values and dubious heroes .
4. But dubious loans weren 't necessarily bad .
5. They also forfeited most of their dubious gains .

more: >How to Use "dubious" with Example Sentences