skeptical
Americanadjective
-
inclined to skepticism; having an attitude of doubt.
a skeptical young woman who will question whatever you say.
- Synonyms:
- skeptic
-
doubtful about a particular thing.
My teacher thinks I can get a scholarship, but I'm skeptical.
-
showing doubt.
a skeptical smile.
-
denying or questioning the tenets of a religion.
a skeptical approach to the nature of miracles.
- Synonyms:
- unbelieving
-
(initial capital letter) of or relating to Skeptics or Skepticism.
Related Words
See doubtful.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of skeptical
Explanation
If a friend told you that her family was perfect and they never had any problems, would you believe her? If not, you may be skeptical. Skeptical people look at the world with a certain amount of doubt. This word comes from ancient Greece, where a philosopher named Pyrrho taught his followers that we can never really understand the true nature of things, only how they appear to us. (So basically, we should stop searching for the meaning of life and just relax.) In Pyrrho's view, the true sage was someone who realized that it was impossible to be certain about anything. His followers were called Skeptikoi, or Skeptics; the Greek word skeptikos means “given to asking questions.”
Vocabulary lists containing skeptical
Essential Academic Vocabulary for High School Students, List 1
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ACT Reading Test: Words to Capture Tone, List 1
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The New SAT: Words to Capture Tone
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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.
Skeptical of the benefits and wary of thin liquidity, many investors say they are planning to stay away from overnight trading and expect others to do the same.
From Barron's • Oct. 23, 2025
Skeptical review of sex-based laws has been essential to eradicating these rules and ensuring that sex does not determine the schools we attend, the jobs we do, the care we provide, and beyond.
From Slate • Jun. 25, 2025
Skeptical that sales were down, Romero said he wanted to hear it from the traqueteros themselves, she testified.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 25, 2024
Skeptical foreign investors will need more than one month of slowing imports and exports decline though.
From Reuters • Nov. 6, 2023
Skeptical readers couldn’t help wondering why spirits of people who had lived in places as different as eighteenth-century Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts, all sounded like a nineteenth-century Quaker abolitionist from western New York.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
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.
