Dubious vs Vacillate - What's the difference?
dubious | vacillate |
Arousing doubt; questionable; open to suspicion.
* 2011 , Nigel Jones, "A Tale of Two Scandals", History Today , February 2011, Vol. 61 Issue 2, pages 10–17
In disbelief; wavering, uncertain, or hesitating in opinion; inclined to doubt; undecided.
* 2010 , John M. Broder, "Global Climate-Change Talks Begin in Cancun With More Modest Expectations", New York Times , November 30, Section A, Column 0, Foreign Desk, page 12
To sway unsteadily from one side to the other; oscillate.
* 1910:
To swing indecisively from one course of action or opinion to another.
* 2004: , Character: Profiles in Presidential Courage
As an adjective dubious
is arousing doubt; questionable; open to suspicion.As a verb vacillate is
to sway unsteadily from one side to the other; oscillate.dubious
English
Adjective
(en adjective)- After he made some dubious claims about the company, fewer people trusted him.
- 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.
- 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.
Derived terms
* dubious honor / dubious honour * dubiously * dubiousnessSee also
*vacillate
English
Verb
(vacillat)- Its [the barometer's] normal register in the Paumotus [the Tuamotus] was 29.90, and it was quite customary to see it vacillate between 29.85 and 30.00, or even 30.05; [...]
- On the streets of Berlin, Ruth and her compatriots vacillated "between hope and despair."