incredulous
Americanadjective
-
not credulous; disinclined or indisposed to believe; skeptical
-
indicating or showing unbelief.
an incredulous smile.
adjective
Synonym Usage
See doubtful.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of incredulous
From the Latin word incrēdulus, dating back to 1525–35; see in- 3, credulous
Explanation
If you are incredulous, that means you can't or won't believe something. If you tell people about those aliens you met the other night, they'll probably give you an incredulous look. Incredulous is the opposite of credulous, which means "believing too easily." Both words come from the Latin word credere, which means "to believe." Incredulous is stronger than skeptical; if you're incredulous, you refuse to believe something, but if you're skeptical, you're doubtful but you haven't ruled it out completely. If someone insists that your best friend is actually an underworld spy, you'll probably look at them with incredulous anger.
Vocabulary lists containing incredulous
The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 1
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The Outsiders
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Lord of the Flies
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Incredulous, Matthiesen emailed Doyle, who wrote back that yes, in fact, Landau and “Chris” had bought the painting together.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 11, 2026
Incredulous followers argue there’s no way he runs his own account, but he insists that he does.
From Slate • Jul. 29, 2020
Incredulous that she’d never tried one before, her boyfriend, Chris Hui, dragged her to a tiny stall in Chinatown with no seats and a kitchen equipped with little more than a toaster oven.
From New York Times • Feb. 13, 2020
Incredulous, Mr. Foster keeps eating his sandwich and arguing with the officer over the law, claiming he was singled out among several other people who were eating and drinking.
From Washington Times • Nov. 11, 2019
Incredulous and half fearful he peered at it closely.
From The Golden Scorpion by Rohmer, Sax
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
