Word of the Day

: July 25, 2015

dubious

adjective DOO-bee-us

What It Means

1 a : of doubtful promise or outcome

b : questionable or suspect as to true nature or quality

2 : unsettled in opinion : doubtful

dubious in Context

Jesse made the dubious claim that he could eat a whole watermelon in one sitting; then we sat in awe and watched him do it.

"'Can you work with what I have?' he asked, sounding dubious. 'Absolutely!' I said, though I was dubious, too. I'd always staged houses with my own furnishings.'" - Marni Jameson, San Jose Mercury News (California), June 11, 2015

Did You Know?

Dubious derives from the Latin verb dubare, meaning "to hesitate in choice of opinions or courses," and it is related to the Latin word for "two": duo. Dubious can be used to indicate uncertainty about the result of an action or the truth of a statement as well as about the uncertainty of a person and his or her character. In either case, it usually implies a feeling of doubt from suspicion, mistrust, or hesitation.