All 4 Uses
dubious
in
Moby Dick
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- It was a very dubious-looking, nay, a very dark and dismal night, bitingly cold and cheerless.†
Chpt 1-3dubious = doubtful; or suspicious; or full of uncertainty -- sometimes to indicate that something described as good is actually bad
- "Those sailors we saw, Queequeg, where can they have gone to?" said I, looking dubiously at the sleeper.†
Chpt 19-21 *dubiously = doubtfully or suspiciously
- Whether to admit Hercules among us or not, concerning this I long remained dubious: for though according to the Greek mythologies, that antique Crockett and Kit Carson—that brawny doer of rejoicing good deeds, was swallowed down and thrown up by a whale; still, whether that strictly makes a whaleman of him, that might be mooted.†
Chpt 82-84dubious = doubtful; or suspicious; or full of uncertainty -- sometimes to indicate that something described as good is actually bad
- Such an added, gliding strangeness began to invest the thin Fedallah now; such ceaseless shudderings shook him; that the men looked dubious at him; half uncertain, as it seemed, whether indeed he were a mortal substance, or else a tremulous shadow cast upon the deck by some unseen being's body.†
Chpt 130-132
Definitions:
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(1)
(dubious) doubtful, questionable, or suspicious -- especially in a way that makes something seem unreliable, improper, or uncertain
doubtfulin various senses, including:- questionable or doubtful that something should be relied upon -- as in "The argument relies on a dubious assumption."
- suspicious or doubtful that something is morally proper -- as in "The company is accused of using dubious sales practices to influence minors."
- bad or of questionable value -- as in "The state has the dubious distinction of the highest taxes."
- uncertain or doubtful -- as in "She is dubious about making the change."
- (2) (meaning too rare to warrant focus)