dubious (ˈdjuːbɪəs
)
Definitions
adjective
- marked by or causing doubt ⇒
a dubious reply
- unsettled in mind; uncertain; doubtful
- of doubtful quality; untrustworthy ⇒
a dubious reputation
- not certain in outcome
Alternative Forms
ˈdubiously adverb ˈdubiousness nounWord Origin
C16: from Latin dubius waveringSynonyms
View thesaurus entry=
suspect,
suspicious,
crooked,
dodgy,
questionable,
unreliable,
shady,
unscrupulous,
fishy,
disreputable,
untrustworthy,
undependable,
=
unsure,
uncertain,
suspicious,
hesitating,
doubtful,
sceptical,
tentative,
wavering,
hesitant,
undecided,
unconvinced,
iffy,
leery,
distrustful,
in two minds,
=
doubtful,
questionable,
ambiguous,
debatable,
moot,
arguable,
equivocal,
open to question
disputable,
Translations
- British English:
dubious
You describe something as dubious when you think it is not completely honest, safe, or reliable.This claim seems rather dubious.ˈdjuːbɪəs ADJECTIVE This claim seems rather dubious.
- Spanish:
dudoso
adj dudosa
- French:
douteux
adj douteuse
- German:
zweifelhaft
adj
- Chinese: 暧昧的 adj
- Arabic: مُريِب adj
- Portuguese: duvidoso adj duvidosa
- Russian: сомнительный adj сомнительная
- Croatian: dvojben adj dvojbena
- Czech: pochybný adj
- Danish: tvivlsom adj
- Dutch: dubieus adj
- Finnish: epäilyttävä adj
- Greek: διφορούμενος adj διφορούμενη
- Italian: incerto adj incerta
- Japanese: 怪しげな no_posp
- Korean: 의심스러운 adj
- Norwegian: tvilsom adj
- Polish: wątpliwy adj wątpliwa
- Brazilian Portuguese: duvidoso adj duvidosa
- European Spanish:
dudoso
adj dudosa
- Swedish: tvivelaktig adj tvivelaktigt
- Thai: สงสัย adj
- Turkish: kuşkulu adj
- Vietnamese: đáng ngờ adj
Usage examples
Debbie Price and the head porter exchanged dubious looks, but there was no denying the urgency in Brand's voice.
, The Sound of Murder (1986)Political (and indeed, personal) interests - the lifeblood of politics - are seen as dubious.
Spiked (2003)Things are truly strange when TV offers the dubious thrill of watching traffic.
Globe and Mail (2003)They will hear thousands of pseudo-scientific reports, many of them just as dubious as the example above.
Glasgow Herald (2001)Florence Chandler, born in Alabama in 1862, had a dubious family background.
, THE MEDICAL MYSTERIES E-OMNIBUS (2001)