Dubious

Dubious
Dubious Du"bi*ous, a. [L. dubius, dubiosus, fr. duo two. See {Two}, and cf. {Doubt}.] 1. Doubtful or not settled in opinion; being in doubt; wavering or fluctuating; undetermined. ``Dubious policy.'' --Sir T. Scott. [1913 Webster]

A dubious, agitated state of mind. --Thackeray. [1913 Webster]

2. Occasioning doubt; not clear, or obvious; equivocal; questionable; doubtful; as, a dubious answer. [1913 Webster]

Wiping the dingy shirt with a still more dubious pocket handkerchief. --Thackeray. [1913 Webster]

3. Of uncertain event or issue; as, in dubious battle.

Syn: Doubtful; doubting; unsettled; undetermined; equivocal; uncertain. Cf. {Doubtful}. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • dubious — [do͞o′bē əs, dyo͞o′bē əs] adj. [L dubiosus, doubtful < dubius, doubting, uncertain < du < or akin to duo, TWO + IE base * bhu , *bheu , to BE] 1. causing doubt; ambiguous; vague [a dubious remark] 2. feeling doubt; hesitating; skeptical… …   English World dictionary

  • dubious — [adj1] doubtful arguable, chancy, debatable, diffident, disputable, dubitable, equivocal, far fetched, fishy*, fly by night*, hesitant, iffy*, improbable, indecisive, moot, mootable, open, perplexed, problematic, questionable, reluctant, shady,… …   New thesaurus

  • dubious — I adjective ambiguous, anceps, arguable, chancy, conditional, confusing, confutable, contestable, contingent, controversial, controvertible, debatable, dependent, disputable, doubtful, dubitative, dubius, equivocal, fallible, hazy, in dispute, in …   Law dictionary

  • dubious — 1540s, from L. dubiosus doubtful, from dubium doubt, neuter of dubius vacillating, moving two ways, fluctuating; figuratively wavering in opinion, doubting, doubtful, from duo two (see TWO (Cf. two)), with a sense of of two minds, undecided… …   Etymology dictionary

  • dubious — *doubtful, questionable, problematic Analogous words: suspicious, skeptical, mistrustful, uncertain (see corresponding nouns at UNCERTAINTY): hesitant, reluctant, *disinclined Antonyms: cocksure (state of mind, opinion): reliable (of things in… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • dubious — ► ADJECTIVE 1) hesitating or doubting. 2) not to be relied upon. 3) of questionable value; suspect. DERIVATIVES dubiously adverb dubiousness noun. ORIGIN Latin dubiosus, from dubium a doubt …   English terms dictionary

  • dubious — du|bi|ous [ˈdju:biəs US ˈdu: ] adj [Date: 1500 1600; : Latin; Origin: dubius, from dubare to be unable to decide ] 1.) probably not honest, true, right etc ▪ The firm was accused of dubious accounting practices. ▪ Many critics regard this… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • dubious — [[t]dju͟ːbiəs, AM du͟ː [/t]] 1) ADJ GRADED If you describe something as dubious, you mean that you do not consider it to be completely honest, safe, or reliable. This claim seems to us to be rather dubious... Soho was still a highly dubious area …   English dictionary

  • dubious — doubtful, dubious 1. The constructions that follow doubtful correspond to the pattern outlined for doubt above, with whether and if still dominant but a that clause now increasingly common: • It is doubtful that in the right to life controversy… …   Modern English usage

  • dubious — du|bi|ous [ dubiəs ] adjective * 1. ) not sure about the truth or quality of something, or whether you should do something: dubious about: I m very dubious about his ability to do the job. We were dubious about signing the deal. 2. ) not… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

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