different between skeptical vs incredulousness

English

Alternative forms

• sceptical (British English).

Etymology

skeptic +? -al

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?skept?k?l/

Adjective

skeptical (comparative more skeptical, superlative most skeptical) (American spelling)

1. Having, or expressing doubt; questioning.

   My teacher was skeptical when I told her my dog ate my homework.

   I can see why people are so skeptical [sic] about him, but I think he's on to something here. (regarded by organizations such as the BBC as an error)

   Tom was skeptical when Paul told him that he saw Bigfoot.

2. Of or relating to philosophical skepticism or the skeptics.

Translations

English

Etymology

incredulous +? -ness

Noun

incredulousness (uncountable)

1. (rare) Incredulity; the state of being skeptical or in disbelief.

Quotations

• 1848, F. Ayrton, "Observations on M. d'Abbadie's Account of his Discovery of the Sources of the White Nile," Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London, vol. 18, p. 48,

  Perhaps, one ought not to be surprised that a sudden announcement of success, even though professing to be founded upon the positive testimony of personal observation, should be met by incredulousness.

• 1986, "Noted With Pleasure," New York Times, 11 May, p. BR47,

  Tim O'Brien, who wrote a novel about war, has captured here the sense of incredulousness and theatricality he had while being shot at in Vietnam.

• 2003, Fletcher Winston, "What if Milgram Controlled Student Grades?", Teaching Sociology, vol. 31 no 2, (Apr), p. 222,

  The class responds with grumbling, incredulousness, and the inevitable declaration of disbelief and resistance; "Are you serious?"

Translations

References

• Webster, Noah (1828) , “incredulousness”, in An American Dictionary of the English Language
• incredulousness in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• “incredulousness” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.