INCREDULOUS


Meaning of INCREDULOUS in English

transcription, транскрипция: [ (ˌ)in-ˈkre-jə-ləs, -dyə-ləs ]

adjective

Etymology: Latin incredulus, from in- + credulus credulous

Date: 1579

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

2. : incredible 1

3. : expressing incredulity

an incredulous stare

• in·cred·u·lous·ly adverb

Usage:

Sense 2 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—many people think it is a result of confusion with incredible, which is still the usual word in this sense.

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate English vocabulary.      Энциклопедический словарь английского языка Merriam Webster.