Crossword clues for dubious
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Dubious \Du"bi*ous\, a. [L. dubius, dubiosus, fr. duo two. See Two, and cf. Doubt.]
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Doubtful or not settled in opinion; being in doubt; wavering or fluctuating; undetermined. ``Dubious policy.''
--Sir T. Scott.A dubious, agitated state of mind.
--Thackeray. -
Occasioning doubt; not clear, or obvious; equivocal; questionable; doubtful; as, a dubious answer.
Wiping the dingy shirt with a still more dubious pocket handkerchief.
--Thackeray. -
Of uncertain event or issue; as, in dubious battle.
Syn: Doubtful; doubting; unsettled; undetermined; equivocal; uncertain. Cf. Doubtful.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
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.
Wiktionary
a. 1 Arousing doubt; questionable; open to suspicion. 2 In disbelief; wavering, uncertain, or hesitating in opinion; inclined to doubt; undecided.
WordNet
adj. fraught with uncertainty or doubt; "they were doubtful that the cord would hold"; "it was doubtful whether she would be admitted"; "dubious about agreeing to go" [syn: doubtful]
open to doubt or suspicion; "the candidate's doubtful past"; "he has a dubious record indeed"; "what one found uncertain the other found dubious or downright false"; "it was more than dubitable whether the friend was as influential as she thought"- Karen Horney [syn: doubtful, dubitable, in question(p)]
not convinced; "they admitted the force of my argument but remained dubious"
Usage examples of "dubious".
Dubious but not wanting to appear ungrateful, Alec picked up a blanket and went to the pool.
Still dubious, Alec followed her to the stables behind the main building where a groom saddled a spirited horse for him.
When Alec still looked dubious, Seregil clapped him on the shoulder in mock exasperation.
I stand in line for one half hour with anachronistic music in my ears for the dubious privilege of using a porta-potty disguised as an eleventh-century privy.
English journalism, would play, like the Chamberlain government, a dubious role in the disastrous British appeasement of Hitler.
It was quickly clear that Aum had a dubious reputation: he lived and worked alone.
The bedroom had reflected the rest of the Victorian house, which was a dubious monument to a bygone age.
What choice did we have, with Safar refusing any of the more neutral meeting places Redigal Coron or Ritsem Caid suggested and offering his dubious hospitality instead?
Item by item she pulled out the new garments: the ruffles and lace and red optical-plastic eye patch that changed her from the Domina of Lost Entibor into a Mandeynan gentleman of dubious ancestry and a taste for violence and low company.
Clearly the book is essayistic in parts, in parts fantastic and discontinuous, and many readers might well doubt if it has any but the most dubious unity.
The police, of course, had no knowledge that Gabbing Dick had had access to even more dubious circles than those of East End criminals.
Sitting to her right, Justice Glynn regarded Pell with a dubious frown.
To be a smith in Port Edward, or any town on the world of Gol Goth, was an occupation fraught with risk and dubious practices.
Bodger gave Grift a dubious look-he could never tell when Grift was pulling his leg.
Lincoln, Nebraska train crew working near Weeping Water also had the somewhat dubious privilege of observing a UFO at close range, as it hovered above them for about three minutes.