Skepticism

How to spell skepticism

10 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce skepticism

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does skepticism mean?

1. nounAn attitude of doubt or a tendency to question claims rather than accept them at face value.

Skepticism in a sentence

• The auditors approached the inflated figures with deep skepticism.

• Public skepticism about the new policy forced the council to publish its data.

Where does skepticism come from?

Language of origin: Greek

This word traces back to the Greek skeptikos, meaning 'thoughtful' or 'inquiring', which itself grew from the verb skeptesthai, 'to look carefully' or 'to examine'. In ancient philosophy the Skeptics were a school who held that certain knowledge was impossible and so suspended judgement, examining every claim rather than accepting it. The term passed into Latin as scepticus and reached English in the late 1500s, at first to name those ancient philosophers and later to describe any doubting, questioning frame of mind. The spelling split that confuses writers today comes from this two-track ancestry: English took the Greek 'k' sound but Latin and French rendered it with a 'c', so American English settled on the 'k' form 'skeptic' while British English kept the Latin-flavoured 'c' in 'sceptic'. Remembering that the American spelling restores the original Greek 'k' of skeptesthai is a useful anchor for getting the letters right.

How the word is built

• skeptic (from Greek skeptikos: inquiring, reflective)
• -ism (noun suffix denoting a doctrine or attitude)

British and American spelling

Skepticism is the American spelling. British English spells it scepticism.