scepticism

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A form of skepticism — The practice or philosophy of being a skeptic.

Less commonScrabble 18

Meanings

nounscepticism (countable and uncountable, plural scepticisms)

plural scepticisms

  1. UKalternativecountableuncountableAlternative spelling of skepticism.

    When, across the hundredfold poor scepticisms, trivialisms and constitutional cobwebberies of Dryasdust, you catch any glimpse of a William the Conqueror, a Tancred of Hauteville or suchlike, — do you not discern veritably some rude outline of a true God-made King […]?

    1843 April, Thomas Carlyle, Past and Present, American edition, Boston, Mass.: Charles C[offin] Little and James Brown, published 1843, →OCLC, (please specify |book=I or IV, or the page)
    1 more example

    As per the old Jewish joke “ask two Jews, get three opinions”, there’s room on this seven-strong bill (plus [Hannah] Gadsby) for at least that many different perspectives on gender – including some impish scepticism from Canadian comic DeAnne Smith, who complains about “getting they/them’d against my will since 2005”.

    2023 October 13, Brian Logan, “‘We’re all learning’: why Netflix needs Hannah Gadsby’s Gender Agenda”, in The Guardian

Synonyms & antonyms

nounthe disbelief in any claims of ultimate knowledge

noundoubt about the truth of something

Similar

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

Cite this entry
APA

scepticism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scepticism

MLA

“scepticism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scepticism. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “scepticism,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scepticism.

Source: scepticism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.