dubious
/ˈd͡ʒuː.bi.əs/adjective
dubious is spelled D-U-B-I-O-U-S: 7 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 3.1 times per million words in written English, the 15,146th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, dubious means “Arousing doubt; questionable; open to suspicion” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in dubious?
| Letters | 7: D-U-B-I-O-U-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.1 times per million words; the 15,146th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is dubious?
Dubious appears 3.1 times per million words in written English, the 15,146th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce dubious?
- UK /ˈd͡ʒuː.bi.əs/
- UK /ˈdjuː.bi.əs/
- UK /-bjəs/
Dubious has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-dubious.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of dubious
- more dubious comparative
- most dubious superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does dubious mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Arousing doubt; questionable; open to suspicion.
After he made some dubious claims about the company, fewer people trusted him.
- 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.
- 3
Generally considered imprecise or wrong, but not totally unplayable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Dubious in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | douteux, dubitatif, louche , sceptique |
| German | dubios, fragwürdig, ominös, zwielichtig , unsicher |
| Portuguese | dúbio, duvidoso , em dúvida |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does dubious come from?
From Latin dubius; like doubt, from Latin duo (cognate to English two), implying “two alternatives” (yes or no, true or false, etc.).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).