---
title: sceptic — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «sceptic» in the school dictionary: A sceptic is a person who doubts whether something is true and wants to see evidence before believing it. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# sceptic

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** sceptic, person, something, dad, adverts, Scientists · **What happens:** be, doubt, want, see, believe, promise · **To what, where:** person, evidence, particular idea, miracles, sceptics, noise · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«sceptic» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 6 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [sceptic in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/sceptic.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A sceptic is a person who doubts whether something is true and wants to see evidence before believing it.

<!-- fold The tree, 19 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sceptic:m1:1
# text = A sceptic is a person who doubts whether something is true and wants to see evidence before believing it.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	sceptic	sceptic	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	7	nsubj	_	_
7	doubts	doubt	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	acl:relcl	_	_
8	whether	whether	SCONJ	IN	_	11	mark	_	_
9	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	11	nsubj	_	_
10	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	cop	_	_
11	true	true	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	xcomp	_	_
12	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	13	cc	_	_
13	wants	want	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	conj	_	_
14	to	to	PART	TO	_	15	mark	_	_
15	see	see	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	13	xcomp	_	_
16	evidence	evidence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	obj	_	_
17	before	before	SCONJ	IN	_	18	mark	_	_
18	believing	believe	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	15	advcl	_	_
19	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	18	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a sceptic | a person |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **doubt** | present | a person |  |  |  |  |  | vn judgment-33.1-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **is** | present | something |  |  |  |  | true *property* | tree rules |
| 4 | **want** | present | a person *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Pivot clause=Theme |
| 5 | **see** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | a person *not said here* | evidence |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer evidence=Stimulus |
| 6 | **believe** | gerund | a person *not said here* | evidence |  |  |  |  | vn admire-31.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer it=Stimulus |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A sceptic may doubt a particular idea, like "a climate sceptic", or doubt religious beliefs.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sceptic:m2:1
# text = A sceptic may doubt a particular idea, like "a climate sceptic", or doubt religious beliefs.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	sceptic	sceptic	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	nsubj	_	_
3	may	may	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
4	doubt	doubt	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	particular	particular	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	idea	idea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
9	like	like	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
10	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
12	climate	climate	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	compound	_	_
13	sceptic	sceptic	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	19	punct	_	_
16	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	19	cc	_	_
17	doubt	doubt	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	19	compound	_	_
18	religious	religious	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	19	amod	_	_
19	beliefs	belief	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **doubt** | may | a sceptic | a particular idea |  |  |  |  | vn judgment-33.1-1-1 «NP V NP to be NP»: agent=Agent idea=Theme clause=Attribute |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
My dad is a sceptic about adverts that promise miracles.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sceptic:x1:1
# text = My dad is a sceptic about adverts that promise miracles.
1	My	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	dad	dad	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	sceptic	sceptic	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
6	about	about	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	adverts	advert	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obl	_	_
8	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	9	nsubj	_	_
9	promise	promise	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	acl:relcl	_	_
10	miracles	miracle	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | My dad |  |  |  |  | about adverts; sceptic *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **promise** *speech: promise* | present | adverts | miracles |  |  |  |  | vn future\_having-13.3 «NP V NP.theme (PP)»: agent=Agent miracle=Theme |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Scientists should be sceptics until there is good evidence.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sceptic:x2:1
# text = Scientists should be sceptics until there is good evidence.
1	Scientists	scientist	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
2	should	should	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
3	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	cop	_	_
4	sceptics	sceptic	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
5	until	until	SCONJ	IN	_	7	mark	_	_
6	there	there	PRON	EX	PronType=Dem	7	expl	_	_
7	is	be	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	acl:relcl	_	_
8	good	good	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	evidence	evidence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | should | Scientists | sceptics |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **be** | present | good evidence | sceptics *not said here* |  | there |  |  | vn representation-110.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Pivot sceptic=Theme |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Tom was a sceptic about ghosts until he heard the noise in the attic.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sceptic:x3:1
# text = Tom was a sceptic about ghosts until he heard the noise in the attic.
1	Tom	Tom	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	sceptic	sceptic	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
5	about	about	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	ghosts	ghost	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obl	_	_
7	until	until	SCONJ	IN	_	9	mark	_	_
8	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	_
9	heard	hear	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	advcl	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	noise	noise	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	_
12	in	in	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	attic	attic	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | Tom |  |  |  |  | about ghosts; sceptic *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **hear** | past | Tom | the noise |  | the attic |  |  | vn see-30.1-1-1 «NP V S»: agent=Experiencer noise=Stimulus |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Be sceptical of websites that don't say who wrote them.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sceptic:x4:1
# text = Be sceptical of websites that don't say who wrote them.
1	Be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	cop	_	_
2	sceptical	sceptical	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	websites	website	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	_
5	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	8	obj	_	_
6	do	do	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	8	advmod	_	_
8	say	say	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	acl:relcl	_	_
9	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	10	nsubj	_	_
10	wrote	write	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	8	ccomp	_	_
11	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | imperative | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  | of websites; sceptical *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **not** **say** *speech: assert* | present · do-support |  | websites |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **write** | past |  | websites *= website* |  |  |  |  | vn scribble-25.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent they=Theme |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Even the sceptics were impressed by the magician.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sceptic:x5:1
# text = Even the sceptics were impressed by the magician.
1	Even	even	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	sceptics	sceptic	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj:pass	_	_
4	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux:pass	_	_
5	impressed	impress	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
6	by	by	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	magician	magician	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **impress** | past · passive | the magician | the sceptics |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus subject=Experiencer |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She remained a sceptic about the new diet.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sceptic:x6:1
# text = She remained a sceptic about the new diet.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	remained	remain	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	sceptic	sceptic	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	xcomp	_	_
5	about	about	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	new	new	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	diet	diet	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **remain** | past | She |  |  |  |  | sceptic *property* | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

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