disbelieving 1 of 2

adjective

as in skeptical
inclined to doubt or question claims the senator stated her case before a disbelieving press corps

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

disbelieving

2 of 2

verb

present participle of disbelieve
as in denying
to think not to be true or real many disbelieved the medium's claims that she could communicate with the spirits of the dead

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of disbelieving
Adjective
During one scene, Scherrman appears for a few seconds as the catcher in a game interrupted by Timothy Busfield, the disbelieving brother-in-law of Kevin Costner's character Ray Kinsella. — CBS News, 13 Aug. 2026 During one scene, Scherrman appears for a few seconds as the catcher in a game interrupted by Timothy Busfield, the disbelieving brother-in-law of Kevin Costner’s character Ray Kinsella. — Dave Campbell, Chicago Tribune, 13 Aug. 2026 Muchová went up 3-1 early with a crouching forehand volley that just plopped inside the court, prompting applause from Gauff and a disbelieving shake of the head from Muchová. — Ava Wallace, New York Times, 9 July 2026
Verb
There are shirts being whirled all around me as disbelieving fans soak in the celebrations with their squad. — Aleks Klosok, CNN Money, 15 July 2026 That same disbelieving fullness. — Vin Diesel, Variety, 16 May 2026 When Mom reached Dad on the telephone in the White House pantry to commiserate over the earth-shattering news, Dad’s response was disbelieving. — John Wrory Ficklin, Time, 11 Feb. 2026 The higher-ups are disbelieving, but Alex points out that the network has a fancy new AI that can replicate her voice in a zillion languages. — Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 24 Sep. 2025 Pearl, Dale’s adult daughter, vacillates between disbelieving that her father committed suicide and blaming her mother for it. — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 24 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for disbelieving
  1. skeptical
  2. denying
  3. suspicious
  4. doubting
  5. unbelieving
  6. incredulous
  7. cautious
Adjective
  • Progressives like Melat Kiros have signaled their votes for Jeffries might be up for grabs unless their leadership embraces more left-leaning policies, but most Democrats are skeptical about major defections.
    — Nicholas Wu, semafor.com, 27 Oct. 2026
  • Gabriel, however, is more skeptical, arguing that infrastructure carries the incentives of the model that built it, making a brand with less influence likely to struggle to resist a parent company oriented around speed, efficiency, and growth.
    — Jessica Binns, Vogue, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of skeptical
Verb
  • Her husband, Conor, has gone on the record denying any involvement in her death.
    — Kelsie Cairns , Adam Sabes, FOXNews.com, 21 Oct. 2026
  • The latter predicts a single universe by denying the universal validity of Schrödinger’s equation.
    — Philipp Strasberg, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of denying
Adjective
  • The authentication process combines human expertise and AI integration to flag any suspicious activity and ensure that listings follow commercial industry standards.
    — Sophie Lou Wilson, Vogue, 26 Oct. 2026
  • What readers are saying The comments discuss a case involving a person who sent letters containing a suspicious substance, with many commenters criticizing the individual's intelligence for including his return address.
    — Violet Jira, Washington Post, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of suspicious
Verb
  • The stocks are already down over 30% each in October as credit investors blew their yields out to distressed levels, doubting their business model of using aggressive levels of debt to build data centers.
    — Leonie Kidd, CNBC, 26 Oct. 2026
  • One writer signed up to work with a confidence coach for the first time, and ended up doubting that her self-doubt was all that bad.
    — Eric Levitz, Vox, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of doubting
Adjective
  • One day, the elusive Seth meets the equally alluring but totally living doctor Maggie (Meg Ryan), who is suspicious and unbelieving of the mystical wonders of this world.
    — Nathan Smith, Vulture, 14 Feb. 2024
  • He was told that unbelieving boys and girls in short dresses and naked arms met in these places and fell in love.
    — The New Yorker, The New Yorker, 22 Mar. 2022
Definition of unbelieving
Adjective
  • In a true turn of events that would seem almost incredulous in a Hollywood script, the boss of a now defunct production company that specialized in true crime is wanted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
    — Dominic Patten, Deadline, 14 Oct. 2026
  • The title comes from a phrase that became part of his creative vocabulary and began appearing in sketches whenever an absurd situation called for a perfectly incredulous response.
    — Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of incredulous
Adjective
  • Be cautious about unfamiliar apps with extensive permissions.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 23 Oct. 2026
  • And while Denton appears to be the right person to focus on cost savings and efficiencies, Wall Street remained cautious on the timing of Nike’s turnaround.
    — Vicki M. Young, Footwear News, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of cautious

Browse Nearby Words

disbelieves
disbelieving
disbenefit
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Cite this Entry

“Disbelieving.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disbelieving. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

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