Dubiosity

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The quality of having mixed feelings or uncertainty about a situation occurs when skepticism prevails over clarity in a decision-making process
2. A state marked by hesitation and doubt manifests when individuals experience conflicting thoughts about a belief or outcome
3. The condition of experiencing uncertainty or lack of conviction about something

Etymology: "Dubiosity" is a formation from "dubious" on the pattern of pairs like "curious" and "curiosity," where an adjective ending in "-ous" gives a noun ending in "-osity." English took "dubious," from Latin "dubiosus," meaning doubtful or uncertain, and the noun followed the same route as a parallel formation rather than arising from a separate Latin word. The noun was built on a Latin-type form, "dubiositas," which English writers adapted from the Latin pattern for abstract nouns. The Italian "dubbiosita" shows the same construction in a sister language, so the formation appears in more than one tongue. The Oxford English Dictionary records the word in its volume covering D to E, where it is defined as the condition of experiencing uncertainty or lack of conviction about something. The word is rare, and its appeal lies in how neatly it supplies a state-noun for a quality that "doubt" and "uncertainty" describe in different ways.

Synonyms: doubt, uncertainty

Antonyms: certainty