skeptical
adj/ˈskɛptɪkəl/
Etymology From Latin scepticus + -al; attested earlier than skeptic. By surface analysis, skeptic + -al.
1
US Having, or expressing doubt; questioning.
- My teacher was skeptical when I told her my dog ate my homework.
- Tom was skeptical when Paul told him that he saw Bigfoot.
2 more examples
- I can see why people are so skeptical [sic] about him, but I think he's on to something here.2009 September 12, Xolani1990, quotee, “Brown Lotto trick 'confuses' fans”, in BBC News, London: BBC, archived from the original on 14 Sep 2009:
- Numerous experimental tests and other observations have been offered in favor of animal mind reading, and although many scientists are skeptical, others assert that humans are not the only species capable of representing what others do and don’t perceive and know.2012 March–April, Colin Allen, “Do I See What You See?”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, archived from the original on 26 Apr 2012, page 168:
2
US Of or relating to philosophical skepticism or the skeptics.
- Derived terms
- antiskeptical, Euro-skeptical, Euroskeptical, nonskeptical, overskeptical, pseudoskeptical, skepticality, skeptically, skepticalness, skeptimistic, technoskeptical, unskeptical