skepticism

Skepticism is the habit of doubting claims until they have been proved. Not refusing to believe — declining to believe yet.

It is the engine of science, where every result is treated as provisional until somebody else can repeat it. In ordinary use it means a wary attitude, as in met with considerable skepticism. Philosophy has a stricter sense, in which the whole possibility of knowledge is questioned. British English spells the word with a c at the front and American English with a k, and the pronunciation is the same either way.