Roget's Thesaurus: Entry 485 (Unbelief)

Make sure you have read the copyright information for this Project Gutenberg thesaurus, as well as the description of the thesaurus.

#485. Unbelief. Doubt.-- N. unbelief, disbelief, misbelief; discredit, miscreance[obs]; infidelity &c. (irreligion) 989[obs]; dissent &c. 489; change of opinion &c. 484; retraction &c. 607.

doubt &c. (uncertainty) 475; skepticism, scepticism, misgiving, demure; distrust, mistrust, cynicism; misdoubt[obs], suspicion, jealousy, scruple, qualm; onus probandi[Lat].

incredibility, incredibleness; incredulity.

[person who doubts] doubter, skeptic, cynic.; unbeliever &c. 487.

V. disbelieve, discredit; not believe &c. 484; misbelieve[obs]; refuse to admit &c. (dissent) 489; refuse to believe &c. (incredulity) 487.

doubt; be doubtful &c. (uncertain) 475; doubt the truth of; be skeptical as to &c. adj.; diffide|; distrust, mistrust; suspect, smoke, scent, smell a rat; have doubts, harbor doubts, entertain doubts, suspicions; have one's doubts.

demure, stick at, pause, hesitate, scruple; stop to consider, waver.

hang in suspense, hang in doubt.

throw doubt upon, raise a question; bring in, call in question; question, challenge, dispute; deny &c. 536; cavil; cause a doubt, raise a doubt, start a doubt, suggest a doubt, awake a doubt, make suspicion; ergotize[obs].

startle, stagger; shake one's faith, shake one's belief, stagger one's faith, stagger one's belief.

Adj. unbelieving; skeptical, sceptical.

[transitive] incredulous as to, skeptical as to; distrustful as to, shy as to, suspicious of; doubting &c. v.

doubtful &c. (uncertain) 475; disputable; unworthy of, undeserving of belief &c. 484; questionable; suspect, suspicious; open to suspicion, open to doubt; staggering, hard to believe, incredible, unbelievable, not to be believed, inconceivable; impossible &c. 471.

fallible &c. (uncertain) 475; undemonstrable; controvertible &c. (untrue) 495.

Adv. cum grano salis[Latin: with a grain of salt]; with grains of allowance.

Phr. fronti nulla fides[Lat]; nimium ne crede colori [Lat][Vergil]; "timeo Danaos et dona ferentes" [Latin: I fear the Greeks even when bearing gifts][Vergil], beware of Greeks bearing gifts; credat Judaeus Apella [Lat][Horace]; let those believe who may; ad tristem partem stenua est suspicio [Lat][Syrus].