incredulity

noun

in·​cre·​du·​li·​ty ˌin-kri-ˈdü-lə-tē How to pronounce incredulity (audio)
-ˈdyü-
: the quality or state of being incredulous : disbelief

Examples of incredulity in a Sentence

The news of his death was met with expressions of incredulity. the teacher's incredulity about the claims in the essay proved to be well-founded
Recent Examples on the Web As Dearborn notes, with some incredulity, no one ever tried to moderate McCullers’s drinking. Maggie Doherty, The New Yorker, 26 Feb. 2024 Evidence of the bribery scheme has always been thin, at best, with most authoritative news outlets treating the claims with incredulity. Oliver Darcy, CNN, 16 Feb. 2024 While giving the neighborhood tour, Winston Robinson expressed a mixture of incredulity and disgust upon stopping next to a house on Van Buren built in 1958 by William White, a Black schoolteacher at what was then Northwest Junior High. Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 1 Feb. 2024 Imagine my family’s incredulity when, a decade ago, my perimenopausal 46-year-old sister announced an unexpected (though welcomed) pregnancy on Facebook. Hamilton Cain, WSJ, 3 Jan. 2024 Washington’s incredulity is to some extent understandable. Peter Schroeder, Foreign Affairs, 20 Dec. 2023 Which is of course why developers have long been trying to stretch the definition, with varying levels of incredulity. Define ‘penthouse’, Curbed, 18 Dec. 2023 Spurred by Carlson’s exclusive blaring of footage of the January 6 attack, Musk maintained incredulity throughout the last 24 hours, tweet after tweet showing in real-time the supposedly political enigma going further and further down the rabbit hole. Prem Thakker, The New Republic, 7 Mar. 2023 Impressively, Kraus defies incredulity by doing his homework. Beth Py-Lieberman, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Nov. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'incredulity.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of incredulity was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near incredulity

Cite this Entry

“Incredulity.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/incredulity. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

incredulity

noun
in·​cre·​du·​li·​ty ˌin-kri-ˈd(y)ü-lət-ē How to pronounce incredulity (audio)
: the quality or state of being incredulous : disbelief

More from Merriam-Webster on incredulity

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