Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Marked by or given to doubt; questioning.
  • adjective Relating to or characteristic of skeptics or skepticism.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Pertaining to, characteristic of, or upholding the method of philosophical skepticism or universal doubt; imbued with or marked by a disposition to question the possibility of real knowledge.
  • Disbelieving; mistrustful; doubting: as, a skeptical smile.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Having, or expressing doubt; questioning.
  • adjective Of or relating to skepticism or the skeptics.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective marked by or given to doubt
  • adjective denying or questioning the tenets of especially a religion

Etymologies

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Examples

  • The issue is the flagrant abuse of the term skeptical as used by someone with a highly selective and prejudiced opinion, as coupled with an inherent mistrust of a majority

    Deltoid 2009

  • In the true self-critical spirit of the United States (remember that from before election 2000?), she was exercising what she termed skeptical patriotism, as contrasted, for instance, with complacency with the way things are and unquestioning trust in the authorities in charge.

    The Skeptical Patriot 2008

  • Herzog at "Left2Right" has what he calls a skeptical challenge.

    Archive 2005-05-01 2005

  • Herzog at "Left2Right" has what he calls a skeptical challenge.

    Selling What Cannot Exist 2005

  • (CNN) – House Democratic leaders and some members of the conservative Blue Dog Coalition might be happy with a deal that allows health care reform legislation to move forward, but some of their fellow Democrats remain skeptical and others openly reject the proposal.

    House Dem on Blue Dogs: 'Not everybody is on the same page' 2009

  • I remain skeptical that there is no way that the states could not take advantage of the federal money, but I am not prepared to dismiss the purported concerns of the governors and call them liars.

    Matthew Yglesias » Phil Bredesen Joins Forces With Dixie Wingnuts to Stick it to the Unemployed 2009

  • While I remain skeptical about the effects of lead ammo used in grouse, deer, elk, etc., if it is ever proved that the lead from my guns is hurting any species, swans, raptors, buzzards, etc.,

    Thoughts on Lead Bans 2009

  • Critics might remain skeptical of Ohio State, but Pryor leads a rebuilt Buckeyes team with all new faces from the teams that lost to Florida, LSU, Southern Cal (twice) and Texas in a three-year span.

    Around the BigTen Conference 2010

  • While I remain skeptical about the effects of lead ammo used in grouse, deer, elk, etc., if it is ever proved that the lead from my guns is hurting any species, swans, raptors, buzzards, etc.,

    Thoughts on Lead Bans 2009

  • Being the slightest bit skeptical is a good thing.

    Matthew Yglesias » Baby, It’s Cold Outside 2010

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