skep·ti·cism

[skep-tuh-siz-uhm]
noun
1.
skeptical attitude or temper; doubt.
2.
doubt or unbelief with regard to a religion, especially Christianity.
3.
(initial capital letter) the doctrines or opinions of philosophical Skeptics; universal doubt.
Also, scepticism.


Origin:
1640–50; < Neo-Latin scepticismus, equivalent to Latin sceptic(us) skeptic + -ismus -ism

an·ti·skep·ti·cism, noun


1. questioning, probing, testing. 2. disbelief, atheism, agnosticism.


2. faith.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To skepticism
00:10
Skepticism is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
Collins
World English Dictionary
sceptic or skeptic (ˈskɛptɪk) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
1.  a person who habitually doubts the authenticity of accepted beliefs
2.  a person who mistrusts people, ideas, etc, in general
3.  a person who doubts the truth of religion, esp Christianity
 
adj
4.  of or relating to sceptics; sceptical
 
[C16: from Latin scepticus, from Greek skeptikos one who reflects upon, from skeptesthai to consider]
 
skeptic or skeptic
 
n
 
adj
 
[C16: from Latin scepticus, from Greek skeptikos one who reflects upon, from skeptesthai to consider]
 
'scepticism or skeptic
 
n
 
'skepticism or skeptic
 
n

Sceptic or Skeptic (ˈskɛptɪk) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
1.  a member of one of the ancient Greek schools of philosophy, esp that of Pyrrho, who believed that real knowledge of things is impossible
 
adj
2.  of or relating to the Sceptics
 
Skeptic or Skeptic
 
n
 
adj
 
'Scepticism or Skeptic
 
n
 
'Skepticism or Skeptic
 
n

skeptic (ˈskɛptɪk) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n, —adj
an archaic, and the usual US, spelling of sceptic
 
'skeptical
 
adj
 
'skeptically
 
adv
 
'skepticalness
 
n
 
'skepticism
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary

skepticism definition


In philosophy, the position that what cannot be proved by reason should not be believed. One of the main tasks of epistemology is to find an answer to the charge of some extreme skeptics that no knowledge is possible.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Example sentences
All the more reason, then, to view the bar with skepticism.
The repeated tuition increases have fed public skepticism about wasteful
  spending by colleges.
Because of the complexity of the problem, environmental skepticism was once
  tenable.
No, but people can use skepticism to become or remain such.
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