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# scepticism

«scepticism» in Mova's school dictionary: **true or will work** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

noun (scepticism; uncountable)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Doubt about whether something is true or will work. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/scepticism/#m1)

2) The habit of not believing things until there is good evidence. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/scepticism/#m2)

3) (philosophy) The idea that we cannot be sure of some or any knowledge. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/scepticism/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In science and media lessons healthy scepticism means checking facts and asking «how do we know?» before believing a claim, an advert or something online. In stories a sceptical character doubts magic or ghosts. Phrases: «healthy scepticism», «treated with scepticism», «scepticism about».

### examples

- The claim was met with scepticism. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/scepticism/#x1)
- A good scientist uses scepticism and checks the evidence. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/scepticism/#x2)
- She viewed the advert with scepticism. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/scepticism/#x3)
- Healthy scepticism helps you spot fake news. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/scepticism/#x4)
- His scepticism about ghosts disappeared when the door creaked. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/scepticism/#x5)
- Philosophers argue about scepticism and what we can really know. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/scepticism/#x6)

### note

UK spelling: scepticism; US spelling: skepticism. Pronounced «SKEP-ti-sizm» (the «c» sounds like «k»). Adjective: «sceptical» / «skeptical». Scepticism is not the same as refusing all evidence.

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «scepticism» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/scepticism/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.