implausibility

Meanings

1. 1noununcountable

   The quality of being hard to believe because it seems unlikely or unreasonable.

   Grammar: Usually used without a: the implausibility of the story.

   Patterns

   • the implausibility of something

   The critic mocked the implausibility of the film's ending.

   Everyone noticed the implausibility of his excuse.

   She laughed at the sheer implausibility of the plan.

2. 2nouncountable

   A particular thing in a story, argument or account that is hard to believe.

   Grammar: Takes a plural: several implausibilities in the plot.

   Patterns

   • an implausibility in something

   The novel is full of implausibilities.

   The lawyer pointed out three implausibilities in the testimony.

   One implausibility spoiled an otherwise good thriller.

Word forms

Common combinations

sheer implausibility

The sheer implausibility of the story made us laugh.

point out the implausibility

The editor pointed out the implausibility of the plot.

implausibility of the story

The implausibility of the story was obvious.

glaring implausibility

There was a glaring implausibility in the alibi.

Synonyms and how they differ

unlikelihood

Unlikelihood is about low probability, while implausibility is about how believable something seems.

improbability

Improbability is about chance and numbers, but implausibility is about whether the account makes sense.

incredibility

Incredibility is stronger and suggests something almost cannot be believed.

Opposites

Word family

implausible adjective

hard to believe

implausibly adverb

in a hard to believe way

plausible adjective

seeming reasonable or likely

plausibility noun

the quality of seeming believable

Commonly confused: implausibility or impossibility?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “implausibility”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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