Pronunciation

How to pronounce “dubious

“dubious” is pronounced /ˈdubiəs/ (DOO-bee-uhs) in American English and /djuːbɪəs/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “du”.
The sound

Say “dubious” in 3 beats

Say it like this

dubious

/ˈdubiəs/

The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /djuːbɪəs/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.

3 beats
  1. dudustress
  2. bibi
  3. əsəs
IPA (American)
/ˈdubiəs/
IPA (British)
/djuːbɪəs/
Respelling
DOO-bee-uhs
Syllables
3 — DU-bi-əs
Stress
Stress the first syllable: DU-bi-əs. “du” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Part of speech
adjective
Difficulty
Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/ˈdubiəs/

British

/djuːbɪəs/

No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.

Meaning

What “dubious” means

  1. adjective

    fraught with uncertainty or doubt

    they were doubtful that the cord would hold

  2. adjective

    open to doubt or suspicion; ; ; ; - Karen Horney

    the candidate's doubtful past

  3. adjective

    not convinced

    they admitted the force of my argument but remained dubious

Say it in a sentence

His excuse sounded dubious the second time he told it.
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

5 sounds, in the order you say them

Each sound has its own page: where the tongue goes, what it is usually confused with, and words to drill it on.

Questions

dubious”, answered

How do you pronounce “dubious”?

“dubious” is pronounced /ˈdubiəs/ (DOO-bee-uhs) in American English and /djuːbɪəs/ in British English — 3 syllables, stressed on “du”. Build it as DU-bi-əs, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “dubious” have?

3: du · bi · əs. The beat lands on the first, “du”.

Is “dubious” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /ˈdubiəs/ (DOO-bee-uhs); British English says /djuːbɪəs/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “dubious” mean?

As an adjective: fraught with uncertainty or doubt For example: “they were doubtful that the cord would hold” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “dubious”?

Stress the first syllable: DU-bi-əs. “du” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.

Practise this word

Now say “dubious” and see every sound

Record it once and sayit lines your audio up against the target sound by sound — what landed, what slipped, and what it sounded like instead.