incredulously
Americanadverb
-
in a way that indicates or shows disbelief.
He looked incredulously at the lime jello embedded with tuna and mini marshmallows and asked, "Do people actually eat that?"
-
to a degree that is very difficult to believe; incredibly.
And then the defendant made a statement that was so incredulously stupid I had to laugh.
Usage
Are incredulously and incredibly synonyms? See incredibly ( def. ).
Etymology
Origin of incredulously
First recorded in 1800–10; incredulous ( def. ) + -ly ( def. )
Explanation
If you do something incredulously, you're doing it in a doubting or disbelieving way. If you look at someone incredulously, you can't believe what they're saying or doing. Incredulously is a word that has to do with disbelief — it's a way of looking at someone or talking to someone like you just can't believe what's going on. If your teacher suddenly started quacking like a duck, the class would look at him incredulously. When a student gives the wrong answer to an easy question, the teacher might incredulously say, "What?" If you're feeling incredulous (disbelieving), then you're probably acting incredulously.
Vocabulary lists containing incredulously
The Crucible
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"The Great Gatsby," Chapter 1 Vocabulary
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A Doll's House
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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.
Suzuki, 52, standing in front of his likeness outside T-Mobile Park, pointed incredulously at the bat before laughing.
From BBC • Apr. 11, 2026
Newton stared at Collins incredulously before shouting his response.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 11, 2025
They will gaze incredulously as you attempt, over and over again, to pop the board onto a rail and slide along.
From The Wall Street Journal • Aug. 21, 2025
There was a palpable moment when she seemed to ask, incredulously, “Did you just say you’re not going to listen to what a circuit court says?”
From Slate • May 16, 2025
“What was that?” roared General Dreedle incredulously, and whirled around in a murderous rage upon Major Danby, who staggered back in terrified confusion and began to quail and perspire.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
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.
