Make Your Point > Archived Issues > INCREDULOUS

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explore the archives: Credible things are believable; credulous people are believing. Incredible things are unbelievable; incredulous people are unbelieving. That's not to say, of course, that "-able/-ible" is always for things or that "-ous" is always for people. Both apply to both! :) See if you can give a quick definition for each of these:   affable people,   capricious things and people,   fallacious things,   and laudable things and people. make your point with... "INCREDULOUS" "Incredulous" means not believing. Incredulous people don't believe what they're hearing or seeing. And when people make incredulous statements or incredulous expressions, these show that the people don't believe what they're hearing or seeing. Pronunciation: in KREDGE yuh luss Part of speech: Adjective. (Adjectives are describing words, like "large" or "late." They can be used in two ways: 1. Right before a noun, as in "an incredulous stare" or "an incredulous person." 2. After a linking verb, as in "His stare was incredulous" or "He was incredulous.") Other forms: Incredulously, incredulity ("IN kruh DYOO luh tee"). For the opposite idea--believing, or readily willing to believe--credulous, credulously, credulity ("kreh DYOO luh tee"). How to use it: Notice that when you're disbelieving, or incredulous, you might be surprised or amazed, or shocked or dismayed, or you might simply think that someone is lying or just mistaken. Either way, "incredulous" describes people, their reactions, their facial expressions, and their speech--usually at a specific moment or in a specific situation, not in general. That is, you could say "Tim listened incredulously to the bizarre news story" but you probably would not say "Tim is an incredulous guy who carefully fact-checks his news." So, talk about incredulous people; incredulous thoughts and minds; incredulous attitudes, incredulous looks and glances and stares; incredulous comments and questions; and incredulous reactions and feelings, like incredulous glee, incredulous rage, or incredulous despair. You can be incredulous of, at, or about something: "I'm incredulous of her claim," "I'm incredulous at her claim," "I'm incredulous about her claim." And you can be incredulous that something is true: "I'm incredulous that her claim is valid." And, you can simply be incredulous: "When she made that claim, I was incredulous." You can also look, seem, appear, or sound incredulous. Just be sure to use "incredulous" only when you mean "unbelieving," not "unbelievable." In other words, don't say "incredulous" when you mean "incredible." For example, the phrase "incredible profits" makes sense, but "incredulous profits" doesn't. examples: Taylor looked incredulous when I took a bite of her broccoli and made yummy sounds. When a scammer called to convince him he was being sued by the IRS, he could only laugh incredulously. study it now: Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "incredulous" means when you can explain it without saying "shocked and surprised" or "very doubtful." try it out: Fill in the blank: "I shook my head incredulously when _____." Example about surprise or amazement: "I shook my head incredulously when I unwrapped the diamond earrings." Example about shock or dismay: "I shook my head incredulously when I saw the juice on the rug." Example about literal disbelief: "I shook my head incredulously when he claimed to have a deep respect for women." before you review: Spend at least 20 seconds occupying your mind with the game below. Then try the review questions. Don’t go straight to the review now—let your working memory empty out first. This month, we're playing with lines of poetry that include words we've checked out together in previous issues. I’ll give you a few lines from the poem, with a blank where our word appears, along with its definition. See if you can come up with it. Each answer will appear in the next day's issue. Enjoy! From yesterday: From Edgar Allan Poe's poem "Dream-Land:"    "For the heart whose woes are legion       ’T is a peaceful, soothing region—       For the spirit that walks in shadow       ’T is—oh, ’t is an __ ______!" Definition: any real or fake place full of riches. (Two words.) Answer: El Dorado. Try this today: From John Peck's poem "Little Fugue:"    "Pouring the last tea  of an evening, dark amber  alive, breathing in ____________     of India," Definition: the purest, most perfect, most essential part of something.  review today's word: 1. The exact opposite of INCREDULOUS is CREDULOUS. But another opposite of INCREDULOUS is A. HAPPY B. SURE  C. FINE 2. Her reaction to the news was incredulous: _____ A. "Oh my goodness! Are you kidding me?" B. "Yes! Awesome! When do we go?" C. "I knew it! Hooray!" Answers are below. a final word: To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact Liesl at Liesl@HiloTutor.com Disclaimer: Word meanings presented here are expressed in plain language and are limited to common, useful applications only. Readers interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words are encouraged to check a dictionary. Likewise, word meanings, usage, and pronunciations are limited to American English; these elements may vary across world Englishes. Answers to review questions: 1. B 2. A