The word incredulous means not able or not willing to believe something, showing doubt or disbelief.

Quick meaning

  • Incredulous = skeptical, full of doubt, or unwilling to accept something as true.
  • It describes a person’s reaction or attitude, not the thing being described.

Example:

  • “She gave him an incredulous look when he said he’d run 100 miles in a day.” (She doesn’t believe him.)

Mini details

  • Part of speech: adjective (you use it to describe a person, their look, tone, or reaction).
  • Typical feel: stronger than just “skeptical” – often closer to “I really don’t believe this at all.”

Common collocations:

  • “an incredulous look”
  • “an incredulous tone”
  • “she was incredulous at the news”

Quick contrast (incredulous vs incredible)

People often confuse these two, especially in online forums and quick chats today.

  • Incredulous : describes a person’s disbelief.
    • “He sounded incredulous when he heard the story.”
  • Incredible : describes something amazing, hard to believe, or extraordinary.
    • “The movie was incredible.”

You would not say “an incredulous story” when you mean “an incredible story.”

How it’s used now

In recent writing, news, and online discussions, incredulous is often used for reactions to shocking headlines, surprising election results, or unbelievable celebrity news. For example, you might see lines like:

“Fans were incredulous after the sudden announcement.”

Tiny usage guide

  • Use incredulous when:
    1. A person is reacting with disbelief.
2. You want to show they can’t or won’t accept something as true.
  • Don’t use incredulous to describe:
    • A movie, event, or fact itself; that’s where incredible fits better.

TL;DR: Incredulous = a person is unwilling or unable to believe something, showing clear disbelief or skepticism.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.