noun · neutral
skepticism
UK/ˈskɛptɪsɪz(ə)m/US/ˈskɛp·tə·sɪz·əm/SKEP·ti·cism
an attitude of doubting the truth of something; doubt
Examples
“Public skepticism about the new policy made the government delay implementation.”
“Scientific skepticism means asking for evidence before accepting a claim.”
“There is growing skepticism among voters about politicians' promises.”
Band 8 sentence
“Healthy skepticism towards sensational headlines encourages readers to check sources rather than share misinformation.”
Collocations
- express skepticism
- meet with skepticism
- healthy skepticism
Word family
Common mistakes
I am skepticism about his idea.→I am skeptical about his idea / I have skepticism about his idea.
There are many skepticisms around vaccines.→There is a lot of skepticism about vaccines / Many people have doubts about vaccines.
Say it for a higher band
5doubt→6suspicion→7+skepticism
Synonyms
doubt
misgiving
Easily confused
doubt
“I have doubts about his explanation.”
skeptic
“She is a skeptic when it comes to miracle cures.”
Related words
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In -ism
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