disbelief

[ dis-bi-leef ]
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noun
  1. the inability or refusal to believe or to accept something as true.

  2. amazement; astonishment: We stared at the Taj Mahal in disbelief.

Idioms about disbelief

  1. suspension of disbelief, the implicit convention requiring a reader, spectator, etc., to set aside their usual criteria for judging the reality or credibility of an experience in order to be be fully immersed in a fictional or fantastic reality:The absurd plot in the last episode stretched our suspension of disbelief to the breaking point. According to Coleridge, enlightened readers could still enjoy literature about the supernatural because of the phenomenon he named “willing suspension of disbelief.”

Origin of disbelief

1
First recorded in 1665–75; dis-1 + belief

Words that may be confused with disbelief

Words Nearby disbelief

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use disbelief in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for disbelief

disbelief

/ (ˌdɪsbɪˈliːf) /


noun
  1. refusal or reluctance to believe

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012