dubious

adjective

1. 1

   Arousing doubt; questionable; open to suspicion.

   After he made some dubious claims about the company, fewer people trusted him.

   They were renowned as people of dubious morals.

   There are several reasons why the line's future is now dubious. With the exception of Horsmonden, the stations are most inconveniently sited. This is largely because the Wealden villages were built on ridges, and in fact most Wealden stations are badly placed.

   Evasive, womanising, boastful, malicious, untrustworthy, an inveterate gambler who combined his mediocre military career with running a high-class brothel, permanently cash strapped and viciously quarrelsome, his character is as dubious as his unsavoury appearance.

2. 2

   In disbelief; wavering, uncertain, or hesitating in opinion; inclined to doubt; undecided.

   She was dubious about my plan at first, but later I managed to persuade her to cooperate.

   Last year, President Obama had large majorities in Congress and hopes of passing a comprehensive climate and energy bill. Next year, he faces a new Congress much more dubious about the reality of climate change and considerably more hostile to international efforts to deal with it.

3. 3

   Generally considered imprecise or wrong, but not totally unplayable.

Forms

comparative

more dubious

superlative

most dubious