Merriam - Webster Word of the day *dubious*

dubious

adjective
du·​bi·​ous ˈdü-bē-əs
also  dyü-
Synonyms of dubious
1
: unsettled in opinion : doubtful
I was dubious about the plan.
2
: giving rise to uncertainty: such as
a
: of doubtful promise or outcome
a dubious plan
b
: questionable or suspect as to true nature or quality
the practice is of dubious legality
dubiously adverb
dubiousness noun
Did you know?

There's No Uncertainty Around the Definition of Dubious

Pop music pop quiz—which musical act had a hit with the song “Ooby Dooby”: 1950s rock-and-roll legend Roy Orbison or 1970s soft rock groovers the Doobie Brothers? Perhaps you’re dubious that the Doobies would do “Ooby Dooby.” Too obvious. On the other hand, Orbison may represent the more dubious choice if you’re an “Ooby Dooby” newbie. Regardless of which way you waffle, however, we think you’ll appreciate dubious as a word that does double duty, meaning both “uncertain or doubtful” (as in “dubious that the Doobies would do…”) and “giving rise to uncertainty as to outcome, quality, or nature” (as in “dubious choice”). And we know without a doubt that dubious comes from the Latin verb dubare, meaning “to hesitate in choice of opinions or courses,” which in turn shares roots with the Latin word duo, meaning “two.” Oh, and if you’re still of two minds about our music quiz, the answer is Orbison.
Synonyms

   debatable
   disputable
   dodgy [chiefly British]
   doubtable
   doubtful
   dubitable
   equivocal
   fishy
   problematic
   problematical
   queer
   questionable
   shady
   shaky
   suspect
   suspicious

Choose the Right Synonym for dubious

doubtful, dubious, problematic, questionable mean not affording assurance of the worth, soundness, or certainty of something.

doubtful implies little more than a lack of conviction or certainty.
doubtful about whether I said the right thing

dubious stresses suspicion, mistrust, or hesitation.
dubious about the practicality of the scheme

problematic applies especially to things whose existence, meaning, fulfillment, or realization is highly uncertain.
whether the project will ever be finished is problematic

questionable may imply no more than the existence of doubt but usually suggests that the suspicions are well-grounded.
a man of questionable honesty

Examples of dubious in a Sentence
The recent rumbles and ruptures in the financial markets are finally making people reassess the dubious systems of credit that have arisen in the past few years. —
William Safire, New York Times Magazine, 19 Aug. 2007
Thus, the translation of the Latin word biographus as "a biography," and the limitation of "biographies" to written, printed histories of men, was perhaps inevitable. Poor Dryden was given the dubious honor of being the first to use the generic term—despite the fact that his phrase had been taken out of the context of biographical compilers, in a discussion of Plutarch. — Nigel Hamilton, Biography, 2007
That indeed is the crux of the matter. Today especially, when community-oriented policing is being introduced everywhere, it seems not only ethically dubious but self-defeating to engage in practices that at their best undermine trust and cooperation between citizens and law-enforcement officials and at their worst foster cynicism toward our legal system. — Edwin Dobb, Harper's, May 2002
To avoid fees, the new "relationship" minimum for checking accounts jumped from $2000 to as much as $6000. And what would customers get in exchange? The ability to take advantage of such a dubious new benefit as a consolidated monthly statement. —
Consumer Reports, March 1996
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Recent Examples on the Web The networking paper that had originally drawn Ziani’s scrutiny had also seemed dubious to the former graduate student. —
Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2023 In 2020, the atmosphere worsened when former host Sandi Toksvig’s brusque warmth was replaced by the cringe (and extremely dubious) comedian Matt Lucas. — James Hansen, Bon Appétit, 28 Sep. 2023 That dubious investigative distinction is approached by no other modern senator. —
Nicholas Fandos, New York Times, 27 Sep. 2023
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dubious.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology

Latin dubius, from dubare to vacillate; akin to Latin duo two — more at two
First Known Use

1548, in the meaning defined at sense 2
Time Traveler
The first known use of dubious was in 1548