Meanings
comparative more unbelieving · superlative most unbelieving
- That does not believe; incredulous, skeptical.
One Sunday morning I woke up, saying to my sister N., " Do you know, I have had such a vivid dream about the Roper party that I can hardly believe T am awake now." "What did you dream?" said N., in rather an unbelieving and sleepy tone of voice.
1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 1051 more example
The burnt and bleeding man staggered to his feet, dazed and unbelieving, and asked the startled townspeople who came running whether his fireman and guard were safe. He was kept away from the smouldering crater where his engine had been, and taken to hospital.
2022 January 12, Benedict le Vay, “The heroes of Soham...”, in RAIL, number 948, page 43Synonyms: nonbelieving · Antonyms: believing
Synonyms & antonyms
More synonyms by meaning
adjectiverejecting any belief in gods
adjectiveholding that only material phenomena can be known and knowledge of spiritual matters or ultimate causes is impossible
adjectivedenying or questioning the tenets of especially a religion
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*né
- Proto-Indo-European*n̥-
- Proto-Germanic*un-
- Proto-West Germanic*un-
- Old Englishun-
- Middle Englishun-
- Englishun-
- Englishbelieving
- Englishunbelieving
Translations
Bulgarian невя́рващ
- невя́рващ (nevjárvašt)that does not believe
Chinese Mandarin 不信神的
- 不信神的 (bù xìn shén de)that does not believe
Esperanto nekredema
- nekredemathat does not believe
Finnish epäuskoinen
- epäuskoinenthat does not believe
French incrédule
- incrédulethat does not believe
German ungläubig
- ungläubigthat does not believe
Irish ainchreidmheach, díchreidmheach
- ainchreidmheachthat does not believe
- díchreidmheachthat does not believe
- éigreidmheachthat does not believe
- neamhchreidmheachthat does not believe
Italian incredulo
- incredulothat does not believe
Japanese 不信心な
- 不信心な (fushinjin na)that does not believe
Portuguese incrédulo
- incrédulothat does not believe
Russian неве́рующий
- неве́рующий (nevérujuščij)that does not believe
Spanish incrédulo
- incrédulothat does not believe
Ukrainian неві́руючий
- неві́руючий (nevírujučyj)that does not believe
Cite this entry
unbelieving. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unbelieving
“unbelieving.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unbelieving. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “unbelieving,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unbelieving.
Source: unbelieving on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.