Skeptical

How to spell skeptical

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce skeptical

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does skeptical mean?

1. adjectiveInclined to doubt or question claims rather than accept them readily.

Skeptical in a sentence

• The auditor remained skeptical about the inflated revenue figures.

• Many investors were skeptical of the startup's bold growth promises.

Where does skeptical come from?

Language of origin: Greek

This word traces back to the Greek skeptikos, which meant 'inquiring' or 'thoughtful', built on the verb skeptesthai, 'to look at, examine, or consider carefully'. In ancient philosophy the Skeptics were a school who held that certain knowledge was impossible and that every claim should be questioned and examined rather than simply accepted. The term travelled into Latin as scepticus and then into French as sceptique before reaching English around the late 1500s. English ended up with two accepted spellings: the British form keeps the original Greek-via-Latin 'sc-' as in 'sceptical', while American (and largely Canadian) usage restored the hard Greek kappa with a 'k' in 'skeptical'. That divided history is exactly why the opening letters are the spelling trap; the 'sk-' here directly mirrors the Greek skeptikos.

How the word is built

• skept- (from Greek skeptikos: inquiring, given to examining)
• -ical (adjective-forming suffix)

British and American spelling

Skeptical is the American spelling. British English spells it sceptical.