incredulous

adjective

in·cred·u·lous (ˌ)in-ˈkre-jə-ləs

-dyə-ləs

Synonyms of incredulous next

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

: expressing incredulity

an incredulous stare

: incredible sense 1

incredulously adverb

Can incredulous mean 'incredible'?: Usage Guide

Sense 3 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.

Example Sentences

"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. See More

Recent Examples on the Web Udo-Ema still is incredulous at the concern, saying that those who equate toughness with outward emotion have missed the point. —

Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2022 Why he’s become such an incredulous, vocal critic of these kinds of things on the App Store is because, as he’s explained via Twitter, zeroing in on these scammy, shady apps is not that difficult. —

Andy Meek, BGR, 20 Apr. 2021 Syed says, incredulous, repeating a question he’d just been asked. —

Sarah Larson, The New Yorker, 20 Mar. 2022 Pilots and aviation enthusiasts were also incredulous, posting dozens of videos analyzing Jacob’s crash. —

Janay Kingsberry, Anchorage Daily News, 13 May 2023 During the defense’s closing arguments, the incredulous facial expressions of the prosecutor Savanna Goude went viral. —

James Lasdun, The New Yorker, 7 Mar. 2023 Given the hyperpartisanship that afflicts Washington, the idea of a speaker from one party working with a president from another is indeed cause for incredulous chuckling. —

BostonGlobe.com, 9 Feb. 2023 The Miz, who was somehow the babyface in this exchange, was just as incredulous as everybody else that Dominik Mysterio did hard time. —

Alfred Konuwa, Forbes, 9 Jan. 2023 When Shah's defense lawyer started to discuss all the good things her client has done in recent times, Stein appeared incredulous. —

Julianne McShane, NBC News, 6 Jan. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'incredulous.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.