Meaning & use
skeptically
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Meanings
adverbnot comparable
In a way that shows you doubt whether something is true or will work.
Grammar: Usually follows a verb of looking or speaking: she looked skeptically at the offer.
Patterns
- look skeptically at something
- listen skeptically
- say skeptically
She looked skeptically at the free offer.
He listened skeptically to the sales pitch.
"Is that really true?" she asked skeptically.
adverbnot comparable
With a careful habit of questioning claims and asking for proof.
Grammar: Often describes how a reader or scientist approaches a claim.
Patterns
- approach something skeptically
- view something skeptically
Scientists viewed the discovery skeptically until it was repeated.
Read online reviews skeptically.
Common combinations
- look skeptically
- The teacher looked skeptically at his excuse.
- listen skeptically
- Voters listened skeptically to the promises.
- view skeptically
- Doctors viewed the claim skeptically.
- eye skeptically
- The buyer eyed the old car skeptically.
- ask skeptically
- "You really finished it?" he asked skeptically.
Synonyms and how they differ
- doubtfully
- Doubtfully suggests uncertainty, while skeptically suggests a demand for proof.
- suspiciously
- Suspiciously implies you suspect dishonesty, whereas skeptically only means you doubt the claim.
- cynically
- Cynically suggests an expectation of selfish motives, which is harsher than skeptically.
- incredulously
- Incredulously shows you find something almost impossible to believe, which is stronger than skeptically.
Opposites
Word family
- skeptic noun
- a person who doubts claims
- skeptical adjective
- doubtful and questioning
- skepticism noun
- an attitude of doubt
Commonly confused: skeptically or sceptically?
skeptically vs sceptically
Sceptically is the British spelling of the same word. It is not a different word.
Practice
Which sentence uses skeptically correctly?
Choose one answer.
Skeptically describes how someone looks or acts when doubting something. The other sentences use it in places where it does not fit grammatically or logically.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “skeptically”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.