Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A doubting or questioning attitude or state of mind; dubiety. synonym: uncertainty.
- noun The ancient school of Pyrrho of Elis that stressed the uncertainty of our beliefs in order to oppose dogmatism.
- noun The doctrine that absolute knowledge is impossible, either in a particular domain or in general.
- noun A methodology based on an assumption of doubt with the aim of acquiring approximate or relative certainty.
- noun Doubt or disbelief of religious tenets.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun The entertaining of mistrust, doubt, or disbelief; especially, the reasoning of one who doubts the possibility of knowledge of reality; the systematic doubt which characterizes a philosophical skeptic; specifically, doubt or disbelief of the fundamental doctrines of the Christian religion.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun An undecided, inquiring state of mind; doubt; uncertainty.
- noun (Metaph.) The doctrine that no fact or principle can be certainly known; the tenet that all knowledge is uncertain; Pyrrohonism; universal doubt; the position that no fact or truth, however worthy of confidence, can be established on philosophical grounds; critical investigation or inquiry, as opposed to the positive assumption or assertion of certain principles.
- noun (Theol.) A doubting of the truth of revelation, or a denial of the divine origin of the Christian religion, or of the being, perfections, or truth of God.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun US The
practice orphilosophy of being askeptic . - noun US A
studied attitude ofquestioning anddoubt - noun US The
doctrine thatabsolute knowledge is notpossible - noun US A
methodology that starts from a neutral standpoint and aims toacquire certainty though scientific or logical observation. - noun US Doubt or
disbelief ofreligious doctrines
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun the disbelief in any claims of ultimate knowledge
- noun doubt about the truth of something
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
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Examples
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The poll indicates that the rise in skepticism is mostly due to a shift among Republicans and independents.
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I am taking your use of the term skepticism literally and not interpreting it as veiled anti-environmentalism.
The Volokh Conspiracy » “Walking to the Shops ‘Damages Planet More Than Going By Car’”: 2007
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"I guess the word skepticism would be in order at this time as to what may or may not happen in those discussions," Mr. Panetta told reporters in Seoul, where he met on Thursday with the South Korean president, Lee Myung-bak.
NYT > Home Page By ELISABETH BUMILLER 2011
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"I guess the word skepticism would be in order at this time as to what may or may not happen in those discussions," Mr. Panetta told reporters in Seoul, where he met on Thursday with the South Korean president, Lee Myung-bak.
NYT > Home Page By ELISABETH BUMILLER 2011
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Today, the skepticism is about a better enabler of access to communication, and more specifically, how communication enables profound access to information.
Curriculum 2009
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Today, the skepticism is about a better enabler of access to communication, and more specifically, how communication enables profound access to information.
Innovation 2010
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"The word 'skepticism' would be in order at this time about what may or may not happen in those discussions," said Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, on his first Asia visit as Pentagon chief.
U.S. Expresses Skepticism About North Korea Talks Adam Entous 2011
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Today, the skepticism is about a better enabler of access to communication, and more specifically, how communication enables profound access to information.
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Today, the skepticism is about a better enabler of access to communication, and more specifically, how communication enables profound access to information.
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There probably was a line drawing of him like this in the dictionary, illustrating the word skepticism.
Going Too Far Jennifer Echols 2009
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