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View synonyms for disbelief

disbelief

[ dis-bi-leef ]

noun

  1. the inability or refusal to believe or to accept something as true.
  2. We stared at the Taj Mahal in disbelief.



disbelief

/ ˌdɪsbɪˈliːf /

noun

  1. refusal or reluctance to believe
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Word History and Origins

Origin of disbelief1

First recorded in 1665–75; dis- 1 + belief
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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. suspension of disbelief, the implicit convention requiring a reader, spectator, etc., to set aside their usual criteria for judging the reality or credibility of an experience in order to be be fully immersed in a fictional or fantastic reality: According to Coleridge, enlightened readers could still enjoy literature about the supernatural because of the phenomenon he named “willing suspension of disbelief.”

    The absurd plot in the last episode stretched our suspension of disbelief to the breaking point.

    According to Coleridge, enlightened readers could still enjoy literature about the supernatural because of the phenomenon he named “willing suspension of disbelief.”

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Example Sentences

I’ve spent a lot of time since in utter disbelief at how wrong those assumptions turned out to be.

The contrast shook Washington’s attorney general, Karl Racine, who seemed to be almost in disbelief on CNN Wednesday evening.

Haley Stevens, a Democratic representative of Michigan, expressed her disbelief.

From Fortune

Fields lifted his hands to his helmet in disbelief after a miscommunication with his receiver led to Clemson’s game-sealing interception.

In online chat groups and forums, political rage and disbelief metastasizes into calls for violence.

The disbelief was evident in article after article, with one conservative site using “President Pinocchio” in its headline.

But, even given the necessary suspension of disbelief, does it work?

In fact, enjoying the show takes an extreme dedication to suspending disbelief.

This may be precisely the point: that fiction at its best is a sphere of suspended belief as much as suspended disbelief.

Daniels laughs at himself, once again shaking his head in disbelief.

He hid himself in Assouan with belief for a companion, he came back and found that companion had been but a masquerader—disbelief.

So atheism, and the disbelief of the existence of the soul after death, characterized that materialism.

When a liar speaks the truth he finds his punishment in the general disbelief.

With or amongst the Romanists to leave the shore is an act of disbelief which must be atoned for by penance or punishment.

I stared at him in disbelief and said, "Oh, Mr. Spardleton, this is no time to play games with me."

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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