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Glite Dictionary
unbelievingly

unbelievingly

1 7.2
Shows that someone does not believe something
  • adverb
  • /ˌʌnbɪˈliːvɪŋli/
translation icon : incrédulamente
  • "But I have a feeling that he's afraid of you." "Him?" said Penelope unbelievingly.
  • stared unbelievingly

Examples

  • Sork stared at her unbelievingly.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Rose stared at the phone unbelievingly when she heard the shocking news.

  • "Four to four?" Krake whispered unbelievingly.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • She stares at him unbelievingly.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Again, I stared unbelievingly into the depths of this breathing organism with its appearance of fluid glass.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • "Grand unification depressed you because it wasn't practical?" George asked unbelievingly.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • A cop-judge who had to be Needlenose Noonan's twin brother yelled out (unbelievingly), "Eleven feet, ten and a half inches."

    Fiction book (1994)

  • Sork stared at her unbelievingly after she made the unbelievable claim.

  • Herman Scott blinked unbelievingly at the wall full of monitor screens, unable to comprehend what he was seeing.

Synonyms

incredulously
vsunbelievingly
8 6.8

In a way that shows you do not believe something

is neutral disbelief without the element of surprise
skeptically
vsunbelievingly
  • US
8 4.4

Showing doubt that something is true

is disbelief that refuses to accept as true rather than cautious doubt
disbelievingly
vsunbelievingly
1 6.1

In a way that shows you do not think something is true

is a general manner showing disbelief but not necessarily strong

Antonyms

believingly
8.9

In a way that shows you accept something as true

How Disbelieving

unbelievingly
1 7.2
skeptically
  • US
8 4.4
doubtfully
4 3.8

Surface Forms

unbelievingly positive

Morphology

unbelievingly = unbelieving (transparent) = un + believe + ing + ly

Standard adverb formation from the adjective 'unbelieving' using '-ly'; 'unbelieving' is transparently built from 'un-' + 'believe' + '-ing'.

Etymology

Unbelievingly comes from the parts un- meaning 'not' and believe meaning 'to accept as true', and you can see the same part in believer. So, to act unbelievingly is to do something in a 'not believing' way, showing doubt or surprise.