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skepticism

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skep⋅ti⋅cism

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

Origin:
1640–50; < NL scepticismus, equiv. to L sceptic(us) skeptic + -ismus -ism

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

Antonyms:
2. faith.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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skep·ti·cism also scep·ti·cism   (skěp'tĭ-sĭz'əm)   
n.  

  1. A doubting or questioning attitude or state of mind; dubiety. See Synonyms at uncertainty.

  2. Philosophy

    1. The ancient school of Pyrrho of Elis that stressed the uncertainty of our beliefs in order to oppose dogmatism.

    2. The doctrine that absolute knowledge is impossible, either in a particular domain or in general.

    3. A methodology based on an assumption of doubt with the aim of acquiring approximate or relative certainty.

  3. Doubt or disbelief of religious tenets.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Cultural Dictionary

skepticism

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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