skeptic
Americannoun
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a person who questions the validity or authenticity of something purporting to be factual.
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a person who maintains a doubting attitude, as toward values, plans, statements, or the character of others.
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a person who doubts the truth of a religion, especially Christianity, or of important elements of it.
- Synonyms:
- doubter
- Antonyms:
- believer
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(initial capital letter)
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a member of a philosophical school of ancient Greece, the earliest group of which consisted of Pyrrho and his followers, who maintained that real knowledge of things is impossible.
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any later thinker who doubts or questions the possibility of real knowledge of any kind.
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adjective
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pertaining to skeptics or skepticism; skeptical.
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(initial capital letter) pertaining to the Skeptics.
noun
Synonym Usage
See agnostic.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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antiskepticnoun
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skepticalnessnoun
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skepticismnoun
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nonskepticadjective
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skepticaladjective
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skepticallyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of skeptic
1565–75; < Late Latin scepticus thoughtful, inquiring (in plural Scepticī the Skeptics) < Greek skeptikós, equivalent to sképt ( esthai ) to consider, examine (akin to skopeîn to look; see -scope) + -ikos -ic
Explanation
A skeptic is a person who doesn't believe something is true unless they see evidence. As a skeptic, you refuse to believe your sister saw a ghost — after all, she can't prove it. Skeptics are doubters — they need to see proof before they will believe. If you're a skeptic, you're probably dubious about things like astrology and magic. Some skeptics feel the same way about religion, preferring facts that can be scientifically and historically proven. Coming from the Greek word skeptikos, which means "thoughtful or inquiring," it's no surprise that a skeptic is someone who asks a lot of questions — and isn't easily convinced.
Vocabulary lists containing skeptic
October Words
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The Suffix -ic, Part 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Count Mark Clifford a skeptic of the move.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
As it turns out, even the most committed skeptic can be won over by a plate of greasy, crisp hash browns, a perfectly smoked brisket or a side of ranch.
From Salon ● Jun. 17, 2026
A frightening encounter with a fabled Sea Hag in the third episode turns dyed-in-the-wool skeptic Tom into a believer, allowing Rhys to exercise his pipes and impressive pitch.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026
Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Troy Jensen says he is somewhere in the middle, although it has taken him a while to move from skeptic to believer.
From Barron's ● May 21, 2026
He was pinched perspiringly in the epistemological dilemma of the skeptic, unable to accept solutions to problems he was unwilling to dismiss as unsolvable.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
But the agreement secured this week left skeptics in Washington and the region unclear what the United States had secured in return.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
In my experience, the skeptics usually come around after the first bite.
From Salon ● Jul. 7, 2026
Paul Meeks of Freedom Capital Markets called Nvidia a buy, arguing that skeptics have exaggerated threats to its GPU franchise.
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
Their view: that those AI skeptics could get blindsided this year.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026
As “first in the field,” the Fox sisters were prime targets for a growing number of skeptics.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
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.