incredulity
C1formal
Definition
Meaning
The state of being unwilling or unable to believe something; disbelief.
A profound skepticism or doubt in response to an unexpected, startling, or dubious claim or event. It implies a questioning of truth or plausibility.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Incredulity is primarily a reaction noun, describing the emotional or cognitive state resulting from hearing or seeing something hard to accept. It is more formal and literary than simple 'disbelief'.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant spelling or pronunciation differences. Usage patterns and frequency are virtually identical.
Connotations
Carries a formal, slightly literary tone in both varieties.
Frequency
Equally low-frequency in formal contexts in both regions.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
be met with incredulity (by)express incredulity at/aboutreact with incredulity tostare in incredulity atVocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “drop one's jaw in incredulity”
- “a look of pure incredulity”
- “beyond belief (related concept)”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Rare. Might appear in formal reports describing market reaction to an unexpected merger: 'The announcement was met with incredulity by analysts.'
Academic
Common in humanities and social sciences to describe historical or sociological reactions: 'The theory was initially received with widespread incredulity.'
Everyday
Used in formal conversation or writing to describe strong surprise: 'She listened to his excuse with growing incredulity.'
Technical
Very rare.
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- He incredulously queried the referee's decision.
- She listened, incredulous at the audacity of the claim.
American English
- He looked at me incredulously when I told him the price.
- She was incredulous that the project had been approved.
adverb
British English
- 'You did what?' she asked incredulously.
- He shook his head incredulously.
American English
- 'Seriously?' he said incredulously.
- I stared incredulously at the headline.
adjective
British English
- An incredulous silence fell over the committee.
- He gave an incredulous laugh.
American English
- She shot him an incredulous look.
- His tone was frankly incredulous.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- Her face showed incredulity when she heard the news.
- He could not hide his incredulity.
- The jury listened to the defendant's alibi with obvious incredulity.
- Public incredulity greeted the minister's explanation for the delay.
- The scientific community reacted with initial incredulity to the groundbreaking paper, demanding more evidence.
- A palpable wave of incredulity swept through the conference hall as the controversial findings were presented.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think: IN-CRED-ulity. 'IN-' (not) + 'CRED' (from Latin 'credere', to believe) + '-ulity' (state of). The state of NOT believing.
Conceptual Metaphor
INCREDULITY IS A PHYSICAL BARRIER ('a wall of incredulity'), INCREDULITY IS A LIQUID ('waves of incredulity swept the room').
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Avoid direct translation from Russian 'недоверие', which is closer to 'distrust'. Incredulity is a reaction to the *improbability* of something, not a general lack of trust in a person.
Common Mistakes
- Confusing it with 'incredible' (an adjective). Incorrect: 'His story was full of incredulity.' Correct: 'His story was met with incredulity.'
Practice
Quiz
Which of the following sentences uses 'incredulity' INCORRECTLY?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Surprise is a broader reaction to the unexpected. Incredulity is a specific type of surprise mixed with active disbelief and skepticism.
Typically, no. It is a neutral-to-negative state of doubt and unwillingness to believe, often triggered by negative or implausible information.
Incredulity is a reactive state of disbelief about a specific event or claim. Cynicism is a general attitude of distrust in the motives or sincerity of others.
It's grammatically correct but slightly less idiomatic than 'react with incredulity' or 'be filled with incredulity'. 'Feel incredulous' is a more common verb-adjective collocation.
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