disbelief en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
- /dɪsbɪˈliːf/ (UK)
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ ▲ Proto-Indo-European *trísinflu. Proto-Indo-European *d(w)is- Proto-Italic *dis- Latin dis- Old French des-bor. ▲ Latin dis-bor. Middle English dis- English dis- Proto-Indo-European *lewbʰ-der. Proto-Germanic *laubō Proto-West Germanic *laubu Old English lēafa Middle English bileve English belief English disbelief From dis- + belief.
Meanings
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(uncountable, usually) An unpreparedness, unwillingness, or an inability to believe that something is the case.
'Smuggling was a way of life here, with no stigma attached,' David explained. His own granny used to smuggle out rabbit meat, tied to her body, and bring back such coveted Italian goods as chocolate, coffee and brooms. 'Brooms?' I asked him in disbelief. 'Yes, ordinary sorghum brooms, which were in short supply in Communist Yugoslavia, like many other basic household goods,' he said with a smile.
2026 June 24, Vitali Vitaliev, “Life on the borderline”, in RAIL, number 1064, page 68:She cried out in disbelief on hearing that terrorists had crashed an airplane into the World Trade Center in New York City.
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(uncountable, usually) Astonishment.
On the streets leading down to the main road to Tiananmen Square, furious people stared in disbelief at the glow in the sky, listening to the sound of shots.
1989 June 4, Kate Adie, 0:11 from the start, in Archive: Chinese troops fire on protesters in Tiananmen Square - BBC News, Peking: BBC News, published 2014:I stared in disbelief at the Grand Canyon.
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(uncountable, usually) The loss or abandonment of a belief; the cessation of belief.
Just like the disbelief in Santa Claus happens gradually, I wondered if it was similar for people leaving their faith.
2012, Gloria Neufeld Redekop, Bad Girls and Boys Go to Hell (or not): Engaging Fundamentalist Evangelicalism, →ISBN, page 246:No adolescent can achieve disbelief in the stork without an eruption of young oaths and cynicisms.
1927, Gilbert W. Gabriel, “Male, Female and American Drama”, in Vanity Fair, volume 27, number 4, page 73:There is an agony of suffering in that lingering doubt which haunts the human soul in the beginnings of disbelief.
1885, H. J. Hardwicke, “The God Idea”, in The Agnostic: A Monthly Journal of Liberal Thought, volume 1, page 239:His later left-wing films prevented any pure and strong emotional attachment between the two sexes from gaining narrative momentum, which might reflect his gradual disbelief in romantic love.
2002, Laikwan Pang, Building a New China in Cinema: The Chinese Left-wing Cinema Movement, 1932-1937, →ISBN, page 99:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| disbeliefs | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Antonyms
Deriveds
willing suspension of disbelief · suspension of disbelief · suspend one's disbelief
Relateds
unbelief · misbelief · disbelieve
Synonyms
Translations (30)
de Unglaube (unpreparedness, unwillingness, or inability to believe that something is the case) · el δυσπιστία (unpreparedness, unwillingness, or inability to believe that something is the case) · el σκεπτικισμός (unpreparedness, unwillingness, or inability to believe that something is the case) · nl ongeloof (unpreparedness, unwillingness, or inability to believe that something is the case) · hi अविश्वास (unpreparedness, unwillingness, or inability to believe that something is the case) · eo nekredo (unpreparedness, unwillingness, or inability to believe that something is the case) · bg скептицизъм (unpreparedness, unwillingness, or inability to believe that something is the case) · cs ustrnutí (astonishment) · ro neîncredere (unpreparedness, unwillingness, or inability to believe that something is the case) · el κατάπληξη (astonishment) · eo miro (astonishment) · fi epäusko (unpreparedness, unwillingness, or inability to believe that something is the case) · bg учудване (astonishment) · pt surpresa (astonishment) · ro necredință (unpreparedness, unwillingness, or inability to believe that something is the case) · pt descrença (unpreparedness, unwillingness, or inability to believe that something is the case) · eo nekredemo (unpreparedness, unwillingness, or inability to believe that something is the case) · cs nevíra (unpreparedness, unwillingness, or inability to believe that something is the case) · fi ällistys (astonishment) · ota شاشقینلق (astonishment) · la incredulitas (unpreparedness, unwillingness, or inability to believe that something is the case) · ota كفر (unpreparedness, unwillingness, or inability to believe that something is the case) · ro surprindere (astonishment) · fi epäusko (astonishment) · pt incredulidade (unpreparedness, unwillingness, or inability to believe that something is the case) · cs úžas (astonishment) · bg недоверие (unpreparedness, unwillingness, or inability to believe that something is the case) · ro uimire (astonishment) · got 𐌿𐌽𐌲𐌰𐌻𐌰𐌿𐌱𐌴𐌹𐌽𐍃 (unpreparedness, unwillingness, or inability to believe that something is the case) · cs ustrnutí (unpreparedness, unwillingness, or inability to believe that something is the case)