incredulous
5 synonyms and 3 antonyms for incredulous, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Adjective — Unwilling or unable to believe something, and showing it.
Synonyms
Less common
Still standard English, but they carry more weight.
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
Antonyms
How to use incredulous
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
incredulous look
frankly incredulous
incredulous laughter
sound incredulous
Neutral to formal; very common in narrative writing.
Etymology
From Latin incredulus, formed from in- 'not' and credulus 'believing', from credere 'to believe'.
Full origin of incredulous →Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between incredulous and incredible?
Incredulous describes the person who cannot believe something; incredible describes the thing that is hard to believe. The listener is incredulous, the story is incredible. Only people and their expressions can be incredulous.
What is the difference between incredulous and credulous?
They are opposites. Credulous means too ready to believe things, which is a criticism; incredulous means unwilling to believe something, usually because it sounds implausible.
