credible

plausible, likely, reasonable; believable or worthy of belief: a credible argument

Not to be confused with:

creditable – bringing credit or honor; praiseworthy; meritorious; estimable: a fine person of creditable character

cred·i·ble

(krĕd′ə-bəl)

adj.

1. Capable of being believed; believable or plausible: a credible witness; a credible explanation. See Synonyms at plausible.

2. Considered capable of achieving a goal: The party must nominate a credible candidate for governor.

3. Being of sufficient military capability to deter an attack or carry out an operation successfully: credible military force.

[Middle English, from Latin crēdibilis, from crēdere, to believe; see kerd- in Indo-European roots.]

cred′i·ble·ness n.

cred′i·bly adv.

Usage Note: Credible is widely but incorrectly used where credulous would be appropriate. Credulous means "believing too readily" or "gullible," as in He was credulous (not credible) enough to believe the manufacturer's claims.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

credible

(ˈkrɛdɪbəl)

adj

1. capable of being believed

2. trustworthy or reliable: the latest claim is the only one to involve a credible witness.

[C14: from Latin crēdibilis, from Latin crēdere to believe]

ˈcredibleness n

ˈcredibly adv

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

cred•i•ble

(ˈkrɛd ə bəl)

adj.

1. capable of being believed; trustworthy.

2. effective or reliable: credible new defense weapons.

[1350–1400; Middle English (< Middle French) < Latin crēdibilis=crēd(ere) to believe + -ibilis -ible]

cred`i•bil′i•ty, n.

cred′i•bly, adv.

credible

– credulous – creditable

1. 'credible'

If something is credible, it can be believed.

His latest statements are hardly credible.

This is not credible to anyone who has studied the facts.

Credible is most commonly used in negative sentences.

2. 'credulous'

People who are credulous are always ready to believe what other people tell them, and are easily deceived.

Credulous women bought the mandrake root to promote conception.

3. 'creditable'

A performance, achievement, or action that is creditable is of a reasonably high standard.

He polled a creditable 44.8 percent.

Their performance was even less creditable.

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Adj.	1.	credible - capable of being believed; "completely credible testimony"; "credible information" believable plausible - apparently reasonable and valid, and truthful; "a plausible excuse" thinkable - capable of being conceived or imagined or considered incredible, unbelievable - beyond belief or understanding; "at incredible speed"; "the book's plot is simply incredible"
	2.	credible - (a common but incorrect usage where `credulous' would be appropriate) credulous; "she was not the...credible fool he expected" credulous - disposed to believe on little evidence; "the gimmick would convince none but the most credulous"
	3.	credible - appearing to merit belief or acceptance; "a credible witness" convincing - causing one to believe the truth of something; "a convincing story"; "a convincing manner"

credible

adjective

1. believable, possible, likely, reasonable, probable, plausible, conceivable, imaginable, tenable, thinkable, verisimilar This claim seems perfectly credible to me.
believable unlikely, incredible, doubtful, unbelievable, questionable, inconceivable, implausible

2. reliable, honest, dependable, trustworthy, sincere, trusty the evidence of credible witnesses
reliable unreliable, dishonest, untrustworthy, insincere, not dependable

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

credible

adjective

1. Worthy of being believed:

believable, colorable, creditable, plausible.

2. Worthy of belief, as because of precision or faithfulness to an original:

authentic, authoritative, convincing, faithful, true, trustworthy, valid.

Translations

مُمكِن تَصديقُه، قابِل للتَّصْديقمَوْثُوق به

věrohodný

troværdig

uskottava

vjerodostojan

trúanlegur

credibile credibilit...credibilmente

信用できる

신용할 수 있는

patikimaipatikimumastikėtinas

ticams

vierohodný

trovärdig

น่าเชื่อถือ

güvenilirinanılabilir

đáng tin cậy

可信的

credible

[ˈkredɪbl] ADJ (gen) → creíble, digno de crédito; [person] → plausible; [witness] → de integridad

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

credible

[ˈkrɛdɪb^əl] adj

(= believable) [statement] → crédible; [evidence] → crédible

(= trustworthy) [person] → digne de foi

(= likely to succeed) [candidate, policy, system] → crédible; [strategy] → convaincant(e)

credible

adj → glaubwürdig

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

credible

[ˈkrɛdɪbl] adj (gen) → credibile; (witness, source) → attendibile

credible

(ˈkredəbl) adjective

that may be believed. The story he told was barely credible.

ˈcredibly adverb

ˌcrediˈbility noun

credible

→ مَوْثُوق به věrohodný troværdig glaubwürdig αξιόπιστος creíble uskottava crédible vjerodostojan credibile 信用できる 신용할 수 있는 geloofwaardig troverdig wiarygodny acreditável, credível правдоподобный trovärdig น่าเชื่อถือ güvenilir đáng tin cậy 可信的

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

But not only is he a darling and alive and credible but his creator has also managed to invest everybody else in the book with the same kind of life.

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But tragedians still keep to real names, the reason being that what is possible is credible: what has not happened we do not at once feel sure to be possible: but what has happened is manifestly possible: otherwise it would not have happened.

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It was not a night in which any credible witness was likely to be straying about a cemetery, so the three men who were there, digging into the grave of Henry Armstrong, felt reasonably secure.

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For that instant everything hung in the balance, for had he done so and found the empty submarine still lying at her wharf the whole weak fabric of my concoction would have tumbled about our heads; but evidently he decided the message must be genuine, nor indeed was there any good reason to doubt it since it would scarce have seemed credible to him that two slaves would voluntarily have given themselves into custody in any such manner as this.

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It scarce seemed credible that he could be serving her from motives purely chivalrous.

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As a genius of the highest rank observes in his fifth chapter of the Bathos, "The great art of all poetry is to mix truth with fiction, in order to join the credible with the surprizing."

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The most credible pictures are those of majestic men who prevailed at their entrance, and convinced the senses; as happened to the eastern magian who was sent to test the merits of Zertusht or Zoroaster.

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Such a descent was not credible. It was, indeed, suggested that Mr.

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That statement, Sir, may be true, or it may be false; it may be credible, or it may be incredible; but, if it be true, and if it be credible, I do not hesitate to say, Sir, that our grounds of action, Sir, are strong, and not to be shaken.

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I scarce know how to put my story into words that shall be a credible picture of my state of mind; but I was in these days literally able to find a joy in the extraordinary flight of heroism the occasion demanded of me.

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Thus restrained and simplified, it sounded more credible: I felt as I went on that Miss Temple fully believed me.

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In what words shall I describe this dread exploit, by what language shall I make it credible to ages to come, what eulogies are there unmeet for thee, though they be hyperboles piled on hyperboles!

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