Phrase guide

suspension of disbelief

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

The acceptance of people, for the sake of appreciation of art (including literature and the like), of what they know to be a nonfactual premise of the work of art.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable, usually

Examples

  • In science fiction films, suspension of disbelief is essential.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Coined by English poet, literary critic and philosopher Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1817.

Across languages

Translations

7 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 懷疑暫停 /怀疑暂停 (huáiyí zàntíng) — people's acceptance of what they know to be a nonfactual premise
  • Chinese Mandarin: 暫時擱置懷疑 /暂时搁置怀疑 (zànshí gēzhì huáiyí) — people's acceptance of what they know to be a nonfactual premise
  • Finnish: but see epäilystä pidättäytyminen — people's acceptance of what they know to be a nonfactual premise
  • Hungarian: hitetlenkedés/hitetlenség/kételkedés/kétely felfüggesztése/feladása — people's acceptance of what they know to be a nonfactual premise
  • Icelandic: frestun vantrúarinnar — people's acceptance of what they know to be a nonfactual premise
  • Japanese: 不信の停止 (fushi no teishi) — people's acceptance of what they know to be a nonfactual premise
  • Polish: zawieszenie niewiary — people's acceptance of what they know to be a nonfactual premise