disbelief
the inability or refusal to believe or to accept something as true.
amazement; astonishment: We stared at the Taj Mahal in disbelief.
Idioms about disbelief
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
1Words 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
I’ve spent a lot of time since in utter disbelief at how wrong those assumptions turned out to be.
Rep. Watson Coleman: I’m 75. I had cancer. I got covid-19 because my GOP colleagues dismiss facts. | Bonnie Watson Coleman | January 12, 2021 | Washington PostThe contrast shook Washington’s attorney general, Karl Racine, who seemed to be almost in disbelief on CNN Wednesday evening.
Capitol Rioters Planned for Weeks in Plain Sight. The Police Weren’t Ready. | by Logan Jaffe, Lydia DePillis, Isaac Arnsdorf and J. David McSwane | January 7, 2021 | ProPublicaHaley Stevens, a Democratic representative of Michigan, expressed her disbelief.
Congress members under siege in Capitol tweet their shock and frustration | Danielle Abril | January 6, 2021 | FortuneFields lifted his hands to his helmet in disbelief after a miscommunication with his receiver led to Clemson’s game-sealing interception.
Justin Fields outduels Trevor Lawrence as Ohio State upsets Clemson in playoff semifinal | Emily Giambalvo, Kareem Copeland | January 2, 2021 | Washington PostIn online chat groups and forums, political rage and disbelief metastasizes into calls for violence.
D.C. is becoming a protest battleground. In a polarized nation, experts say that’s unlikely to change. | Marissa Lang | January 1, 2021 | Washington Post
The disbelief was evident in article after article, with one conservative site using “President Pinocchio” in its headline.
But, even given the necessary suspension of disbelief, does it work?
Daphne Merkin on Lena Dunham, Book Criticism, and Self-Examination | Mindy Farabee | December 26, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIn fact, enjoying the show takes an extreme dedication to suspending disbelief.
I Want to See Your Spreadsheets, Baby: MTV’s ‘Are You the One?’ Is a Mathematical Orgy | Brandy Zadrozny | December 9, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThis may be precisely the point: that fiction at its best is a sphere of suspended belief as much as suspended disbelief.
Daniels laughs at himself, once again shaking his head in disbelief.
Jeff Daniels Defends Aaron Sorkin and the ‘Dumb and Dumber’ Toilet Scene | Kevin Fallon | November 7, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTHe hid himself in Assouan with belief for a companion, he came back and found that companion had been but a masquerader—disbelief.
The Wave | Algernon BlackwoodSo atheism, and the disbelief of the existence of the soul after death, characterized that materialism.
Beacon Lights of History, Volume I | John LordWhen a liar speaks the truth he finds his punishment in the general disbelief.
With or amongst the Romanists to leave the shore is an act of disbelief which must be atoned for by penance or punishment.
Ancient Faiths And Modern | Thomas InmanI stared at him in disbelief and said, "Oh, Mr. Spardleton, this is no time to play games with me."
The Professional Approach | Charles Leonard Harness
British Dictionary definitions for disbelief
/ (ˌdɪsbɪˈliːf) /
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
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