incredulous

IPA/ɪnˈkredʒələs/
KK[ˌɪnkrˈɛdʒələs]IPA/ɪnˈkredʒələs/

incredulous — adjective

  • incredulouspositive
  • more incredulouscomparative
  • most increduloussuperlative

1. feeling or showing that you cannot or will not believe what you have just heard

1.adjectiveC1
Definition

feeling or showing that you cannot or will not believe what you have just heard or seen, usually because it seems surprising, shocking, or unlikely to be true.

Example

Nila gave her brother an incredulous look when he claimed he had cleaned the kitchen.

incredulous look / stare / glance — common collocation for visible disbelief

Hugo was incredulous that his bicycle had been stolen from inside the locked garage.

incredulous + that-clause for disbelief at reported fact

Common collocations
  • incredulous look
  • incredulous stare
  • incredulous tone
  • sound incredulous
  • look incredulous
Synonyms
  • disbelieving

    plainer everyday word; same meaning with less formal weight

  • skeptical

    doubt based on reasoning or evidence, not surprise

  • dubious

    uncertain rather than refusing to believe; weaker

  • unbelieving

    literary; often religious context

Antonyms
  • credulous

    ready to believe things without proof — direct opposite

  • trusting

    general willingness to believe people

Grammar Patterns

incredulous + that-clause

incredulous at + noun

Usage Note

Describes a person, or a person's facial expression, voice, or tone — not the thing being doubted. The thing that is hard to believe is 'incredible', not 'incredulous'.

Common Mistakes

The story was incredulous.
The story was incredible.
'incredulous' describes the doubter, not the doubted thing.
He gave a credulous laugh.
He gave an incredulous laugh.
'credulous' means easily fooled; 'incredulous' means refusing to believe.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All four words describe a refusal or reluctance to believe, but they differ in register and what triggers the doubt. 'Incredulous' is the strongest reaction word: the doubt is immediate and often visible on the face or in the voice, usually because something seems shocking or absurd ('an incredulous gasp'). 'Skeptical' is cooler and more intellectual — doubt based on a need for evidence ('skeptical of the new study'). 'Dubious' is softer still, suggesting uncertainty rather than rejection ('dubious about the plan'). 'Disbelieving' is the plain everyday alternative to 'incredulous', without the strong surprise component. Compare: 'Renata was incredulous when told she had won the lottery' (shock); 'Renata was skeptical of the lottery email' (suspicion of a scam).

incredulous ↗skeptical ↗dubious ↗disbelieving ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • incredulous look
  • incredulous stare
  • incredulous tone
  • incredulous laugh
  • incredulous gasp

Adverbs

  • completely incredulous
  • utterly incredulous
  • frankly incredulous

Phrases

  • with an incredulous expression
  • shake one's head in incredulous disbelief

Prepositions

  • incredulous at
  • incredulous about

Etymology

LatinEnglish

From Latin 'incredulus', formed from 'in-' (not) + 'credulus' (believing, trusting), itself from 'credere' (to believe). The word entered English in the late 1500s, first describing religious unbelievers and only later broadening to the everyday sense of refusing to accept what one is told. The root 'credere' also gives English 'credit', 'creed', and 'credible'.