disbelief

noun

ˌdis-bə-ˈlēf How to pronounce disbelief (audio)
Definition of disbeliefnext
as in skepticism
refusal to accept something as true their story explaining their absence was met with frank disbelief

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of disbelief If only the film had lingered longer on Vasarhelyi’s totally rational horror and disbelief. — Richard Lawson, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2026 The tourists mutter in disbelief before the driver of the bus heads down the street to the next haunted stop. — Sonjirose Chin, Rolling Stone, 2 Sep. 2026 When Serpa announced her pregnancy, the disbelief was immediate and all caught on camera. — Kelsey Monstrola, USA Today, 1 Sep. 2026 The powerhouse formula clearly does its job, as one 55-year-old shopper was left in disbelief at how effective the Olay cream was. — Claudia Fisher, PEOPLE, 29 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for disbelief
Recent Examples of Synonyms for disbelief
  1. skepticism
  2. doubt
  3. incredulity
  4. suspicion
  5. unbelief
Noun
  • Records suggest many died of diseases like tuberculosis or influenza, but Schindler said those assertions merit skepticism.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 12 Sep. 2026
  • Thus Irving manages to have his cake and eat it too, by insisting on the tale’s authenticity while asserting his own skepticism.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of skepticism
Noun
  • Eliminate all doubt and all potential for committing a violation by using a side-by-side or over/under double barrel.
    — Bryan Hendricks, Arkansas Online, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Still, there was a cloud of public doubt lingering over the event.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of doubt
Noun
  • After the third shooting, however, the American public’s incredulity about the official narrative became hard to ignore.
    — Emily Witt, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026
  • James extended both arms in incredulity during the pre-overtime break.
    — Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 2 July 2026
Definition of incredulity
Noun
  • Those suspicions extend to the results of the coming midterm elections.
    — Amelia Thomson-Deveaux, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Emmett, wary from the start, would rather see the back of him, and his suspicions grow when word spreads of a series of brutal murders in the area.
    — Guy Lodge, Variety, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of suspicion
Noun
  • My own passage into and back out of unbelief—one marked by a close reading of works that earlier illiberal societies had attempted to suppress on religious grounds—has strengthened my liberal commitments.
    — Christopher Beha, New Yorker, 14 Feb. 2026
  • But the indirect benefits seem to reflect a posture against green energy, related to unbelief in climate change, and these lead to support for inefficient energy alternatives like nuclear and geothermal and gas-fired turbines.
    — Ian Dexter Palmer, Forbes.com, 14 July 2025
Definition of unbelief

Browse Nearby Words

disbars
disbelief
disbeliefs
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Cite this Entry

“Disbelief.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disbelief. Accessed 13 Sep. 2026.

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