Meaning & use
credible
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Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Able to be believed because it seems reasonable, honest, or supported by good evidence.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after a verb: a credible witness; her story sounded credible.
Patterns
- a credible explanation
- credible evidence
- seem credible
The detective found her explanation credible and let her go.
Only a credible source should be quoted in a news report.
His excuse was hardly credible after the photos came out.
adjectivecomparable
Good enough to be taken seriously or likely to succeed, as a possible choice, threat, or competitor.
Grammar: Often comes before a noun: a credible candidate; a credible alternative.
Patterns
- a credible threat
- a credible alternative to something
The new striker is a credible threat to the league's top scorer.
Voters want a credible alternative to the current government.
The small team put up a credible performance against the champions.
Word forms
| comparative | more credible |
|---|---|
| superlative | most credible |
Common combinations
- a credible witness
- The jury considered her a credible witness.
- a credible threat
- Police said there was no credible threat to the public.
- a credible source
- Always check that the information comes from a credible source.
- highly credible
- The researcher's findings are highly credible.
- a credible explanation
- Nobody could offer a credible explanation for the power failure.
Synonyms and how they differ
- believable
- Believable is the plain everyday word, while credible often suggests a person or source worthy of trust.
- plausible
- Plausible means something sounds possible but may still be false, whereas credible leans toward trustworthy.
- reliable
- Reliable describes someone or something that can be depended on repeatedly, not just believed once.
- convincing
- Convincing focuses on the power to persuade the listener rather than on the trustworthiness of the source.
Opposites
Word family
- credibility noun
- the quality of being trusted or believed
- credibly adverb
- in a believable way
- incredible adjective
- hard to believe, or amazing
- discredit verb
- to harm someone's reputation or make an idea seem untrue
Commonly confused: credible or credulous? credible or creditable?
credible vs credulous
Credulous describes a person who believes things too easily, while credible describes something or someone worth believing.
credible vs creditable
Creditable means deserving praise, as in a creditable effort, and has nothing to do with being believed.
Practice
The journalist refused to publish the story because the source was not ____.
Choose one answer.
A credible source is one that can be trusted. Credulous describes the reader who believes too easily, and creditable means worthy of praise.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “credible”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.