different between unbelief vs incredulity

English

Etymology

From Middle English unbilefe, unbileve, equivalent to un- +? belief.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?nb??li?f/

Noun

unbelief (usually uncountable, plural unbeliefs)

1. An absence (or rejection) of belief, especially religious belief
   • 1526, William Tyndale, trans. Bible, Mark VI:

     And he coulde there shewe no myracles butt leyd his hondes apon a feawe sicke foolke and healed them. And he merveyled at their unbelefe.

   • 1931, William Faulkner, Sanctuary, Vintage 1993, p. 35:

     On hands and knees he looked at the empty siding and up at the sunfilled sky with unbelief and despair.

   • 2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin 2010, p. 781:

     Soon Spinoza was regarded as the standard-bearer for unbelief, even though pervading his carefully-worded writings there is a clear notion of a divine spirit inhabiting the world, and a profound sense of wonder and reverence for mystery.

Translations

See also

• disbelief (noun)
• doubt

English

Etymology

Attested since 1430. Borrowed from Old French incredulité, from Late Latin incredulitas, from Latin incredulus (“unbelieving”) + -itas (“-ity”)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??nk???dju?l?ti/

Noun

incredulity (usually uncountable, plural incredulities)

1. Unwillingness or inability to believe; doubt about the truth or verisimilitude of something; disbelief.
   • 1916, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar, ch. 24:

     Wide went her eyes in wonder and incredulity, as she beheld this seeming apparition risen from the dead.
2. (rare) Religious disbelief, lack of faith.

Synonyms

• incredulousness

Antonyms

• credulity

Related terms

• incredibility
• incredulous

Translations