incredulità

Incredulità is the state or quality of being unwilling or unable to believe something. It involves disbelief, doubt, or hesitation in accepting claims that would ordinarily be regarded as true. In everyday use, it can describe a momentary reaction to surprising information or a more persistent attitude toward propositions that lack evidence or conflict with one's prior beliefs.

The term derives from the Latin incredulitas, from incredule 'unbelieving' (in- not + credere to believe). In Italian, incredulità denotes disbelief or incredulousness and is formed with the suffix -ità to express a state or condition. In English-language contexts, incredulity is the corresponding noun.

In philosophy and religious studies, incredulità is used to discuss attitudes toward miracles, divine claims, or controversial theories, often contrasting belief, faith, or fideism with doubt and evidence-based reasoning. Psychologically, it can reflect cognitive processing of information, emotional factors, and prior commitments that impede belief. The concept also appears in literature and journalism to describe characters or reporters reacting with astonishment or skepticism.

In Italian discourse, incredulità can characterize both secular skepticism and the limits of credulity in the face of extraordinary reports. It is closely related to, but distinct from, scepticism (scetticismo), doubt (dubbio), or mistrust (diffidenza).