Lexic.us

Definition of Skeptic

1. Noun. Someone who habitually doubts accepted beliefs.

Definition of Skeptic

1. n. One who is yet undecided as to what is true; one who is looking or inquiring for what is true; an inquirer after facts or reasons.

2. a. Of or pertaining to a sceptic or skepticism; characterized by skepticism; hesitating to admit the certainly of doctrines or principles; doubting of everything.

Definition of Skeptic

1. Noun. Someone who habitually doubts beliefs and claims presented as accepted by others, requiring strong evidence before accepting any belief or claim. ¹

2. Noun. Someone undecided as to what is true. ¹

3. Noun. A type of agnostic ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Skeptic

1. a person who doubts generally accepted ideas [n -S]

Medical Definition of Skeptic

1. 1. One who is yet undecided as to what is true; one who is looking or inquiring for what is true; an inquirer after facts or reasons. 2. A doubter as to whether any fact or truth can be certainly known; a universal doubter; a Pyrrhonist; hence, in modern usage, occasionally, a person who questions whether any truth or fact can be established on philosophical grounds; sometimes, a critical inquirer, in opposition to a dogmatist. "All this criticism [of Hume] proceeds upon the erroneous hypothesis that he was a dogmatist. He was a skeptic; that is, he accepted the principles asserted by the prevailing dogmatism: and only showed that such and such conclusions were, on these principles, inevitable." (Sir W. Hamilton) 3. A person who doubts the existence and perfections of God, or the truth of revelation; one who disbelieves the divine origin of the Christian religion. "Suffer not your faith to be shaken by the sophistries of skeptics." (S. Clarke) This word and its derivatives are often written with c instead of k in the first syllable, sceptic, sceptical, scepticism, etc. Dr. Johnson, struck with the extraordinary irregularity of giving c its hard sound before e, altered the spelling, and his example has been followed by most of the lexicographers who have succeeded him; yet the prevalent practice among English writers and printers is in favor of the other mode. In the United States this practice is reversed, a large and increasing majority of educated persons preferring the orthography which is most in accordance with etymology and analogy. Synonym: Infidel, unbeliever, doubter. See Infidel. Origin: Gr. Skeptikos thoughtful, reflective, fr. Skeptesqai to look carefully or about, to view, consider: cf. L. Scepticus, F. Sceptique. See Scope Alternative forms: sceptic. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Skeptic

Literary usage of Skeptic

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. New Testament Illustrations: Comprising Choice Selections, Anecdotes by William Basil Jones (1875)
"A skeptic, wise in his own eyes, and prudent in his own ./JL sight, once asserted, in the presence of a Christian, that he would believe nothing which he ..."

2. The College and the Church: The "How I was Educated" Papers and by Edward Everett Halle (1887)
"CONFESSIONS OF A skeptic. WHOSO endeavors to form for himself a theory of the mystery of ... The true skeptic, like every other exceptional human character, ..."

3. The Light of Day: Religious Discussions and Criticisms from the Naturalist's by John Burroughs (1904)
"... VII THE MODERN skeptic A RECENT writer upon skepticism describes the skeptic as generally a " malcontent," not only in religion, but in politics and in ..."

4. The Light of Day: Religious Discussions and Criticisms from the Naturalist's by John Burroughs (1900)
"... skeptic A RECENT writer upon skepticism describes the •*-•*• skeptic as generally a " malcontent," not only in religion, but in politics and in society. ..."

5. The American Catholic Quarterly Review by James Andrew Corcoran, Patrick John Ryan, Edmond Francis Prendergast (1886)
"But, how should we answer the skeptic ? There is no answer derivable from the expression of a single ratiocinative principle. That is what we are about to ..."

6. The Five Great Skeptical Dramas of History by John Owen (1896)
"But Timon is more than a misanthropist or social skeptic. ... Hence Timon is far from being a philosophical skeptic or even a profound thinker. ..."

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