dubious
adjective
Simple meaning
Generally considered imprecise or wrong, but not totally unplayable.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
doobeeuhsSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈdubiəs
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
chesschiefly of an opening move
Generally considered imprecise or wrong, but not totally unplayable.
of a statementmatteror thing
Arousing doubt; questionable; open to suspicion.
of a person
In disbelief; wavering, uncertain, or hesitating in opinion; inclined to doubt; undecided.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (chess, chiefly of an opening move) Generally considered imprecise or wrong, but not totally unplayable.
Used this way, dubious is a reasonably familiar word with a faintly unfavourable edge. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Slightly negative
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Critical or judgemental
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: generally considered imprecise or wrong
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.