Disbelief

noun

noun ·3 syllables ·Uncommon ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    An unpreparedness, unwillingness, or an inability to believe that something is the case. uncountable, usually

    "She cried out in disbelief on hearing that terrorists had crashed an airplane into the World Trade Center in New York City."

  2. 2
    doubt about the truth of something wordnet
  3. 3
    Astonishment. uncountable, usually

    "I stared in disbelief at the Grand Canyon."

  4. 4
    a rejection of belief wordnet
  5. 5
    The loss or abandonment of a belief; the cessation of belief. uncountable, usually

    "There is an agony of suffering in that lingering doubt which haunts the human soul in the beginnings of disbelief."

Synonyms

All synonyms
incredulityincredulityunbeliefagnosticismatheismconfutability

Example

More examples

"I had an expression of disbelief on my face."

Etymology

From dis- + belief.

Related phrases

suspend one's disbeliefsuspension of disbeliefwilling suspension of disbelief

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.