incredulous

adjective in·cred·u·lous \ (ˌ)in-ˈkre-jə-ləs , -dyə-ləs \

Updated on: 6 Jan 2018

Definition of incredulous

1 : unwilling to admit or accept what is offered as true : not credulous : skeptical

2 : incredible 1

3 : expressing incredulity

an incredulous stare

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incredulously

adverb

See incredulous defined for English-language learners

See incredulous defined for kids

Can incredulous mean 'incredible'?

Sense 2 was revived in the 20th century after a couple of centuries of disuse. Although it is a sense with good literary precedent—among others Shakespeare used it—it is widely regarded as an error resulting from confusion with incredible, and its occurrence in published writing is rare.

Examples of incredulous in a Sentence

"Afraid not." I made an expression to show that I was as incredulous about this as he was. —Bill Bryson, I'm a Stranger Here Myself, 1999
A tweed-encased fogey, he's allergic to technology, persnickety about language, and incredulous that anyone could object to his incessant smoking. —John Powers, Vogue, March 1998
He was greeted with incredulous laughter. —Robert M. Hutchins, Center Magazine, September 1968
… no obstacle, no incredulous or unsafe circumstance … —William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night, 1602
She listened to his explanation with an incredulous smile.
He was incredulous at the news.
Many people were incredulous that such a small fire could have caused so much damage.

Recent Examples of incredulous from the Web

The movie depicts a meeting between the elder Getty, his drug-addled son, Gail and a group of lawyers, in which Gail is incredulous at her father-in-law’s willingness to turn a life-or-death matter into a discussion about tax deductions.

— olivia b. waxman, Time, "The True Story of the Kidnapping Behind All the Money in the World," 25 Dec. 2017
The plaintiff’s attorney in the wrongful conviction case, Jennifer Bonjean, was incredulous upon hearing that Jones Day had already billed $115,000 since her lawsuit on behalf of Armando Serrano was filed in April.

— steve schmadeke, chicagotribune.com, "High-ranking Cook County prosecutor resigns after inquiry into case referrals to former employer," 16 Dec. 2017
Morgan was incredulous throughout the trip at the thought that the entire event could be in his honor.

— ben brazil, Daily Pilot, "Holiday Lights and Limos tour brings joy to Navy veteran and family," 14 Dec. 2017
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders offered with a straight face on Friday afternoon, standing before an increasingly incredulous press corps.

— lynn yaeger, Vogue, "Charges for Russia Probe Are Coming Monday, But Who Will Take the Fall?," 29 Oct. 2017
Litterman became incredulous about a decade ago when a friend explained to him that economists who work on the issue often fought over how to estimate the economic damage, in dollars, from a ton of carbon dioxide.

— eric roston, Bloomberg.com, "There's One Unspeakable Fix That Would Help Pay for the GOP's Tax Cuts," 3 Nov. 2017
If Facebook Chairman Mark Zuckerberg was originally incredulous that fake ads and content planted by foreign actors could influence an election, by the time of the hearing, the company’s lawyer was not.

— francine kiefer, The Christian Science Monitor, "Congress drills down on Russian infiltration of social media," 1 Nov. 2017
Despite her joy, the Winter Park resident was incredulous at Spectrum’s service.

— hal boedeker, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Spectrum: Customers blast poor communications," 19 Sep. 2017
Republicans were incredulous about those arguments, saying the intent of the bill is clearly to go after violent gangs.

— tal kopan, CNN, "Gangs bill shows divisions still deep on immigration," 14 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'incredulous.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.