incredulous
/ɪnˈkɹɛd͡ʒələs/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.81 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
4
Syllables
10
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Skeptical, disbelieving, or unable to believe.
adj
Expressing or indicative of incredulity.
adj
Difficult to believe; incredible.
Example Sentences
- "Xodar listened in incredulous astonishment to my narration of the events which had transpired within the arena at the rites of Issus."
- "In safe flats and dark restaurants, never the same one twice, we ate quiet meals, exchanged our goods and gazed upon each other with the incredulous contentment that passes between mountaineers when they are standing on the peak."
- "Reactions at Sun's campus, an hour's drive from San Francisco, ranged from the fearful to the incredulous."
- "Then came a report over the radio from one of St. Los pilots. He was reporting seeing ships, and they weren't American. Worse still, they were close. Incredulous', Admiral Sprague demanded confirmation, and, circling in closer, the pilot radioed back: "I can see pagoda masts. I see the biggest meatball flag on the biggest battleship I ever saw!""
- "Why euery thing adheres togither, that no dramme of a scruple, no scruple of a scruple, no obstacle, no incredulous or vnsafe circumstance […]."
- "Maybe David Ruben had some valid points about the ACLU on the national level from an historical perspective, although critcizing a non-gay organization for not loudly defending gay rights in 1952 seems a little incredulous."
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin incrēdulus (“unbelieving”).
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *ḱerd-, incrēdulus
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ɪnˈkɹɛd͡ʒələs/
- British English: /ɪnˈkɹɛdjʊləs/
Inflected Forms
more incredulous (comparative)
most incredulous (superlative)