credible

adjective

cred·​i·​ble ˈkre-də-bəl 

1

: offering reasonable grounds for being believed or trusted

credible evidence

a credible source

credible witnesses

gave a credible account of the accident

… said the threats were not deemed credible.

—Stephen Wall

2

: good enough to be effective

a credible job

… does a credible imitation of a ballet student's exercises, as well as a flapper's Charleston.

—Dany Margolies

often, specifically : of sufficient capability to be militarily effective

a credible deterrent

credible forces

credibly

ˈkre-də-blē 

adverb

Did you know?

Credible evidence is evidence that's likely to be believed. A credible plan is one that might actually work, and a credible excuse is one your parents might actually believe. And just as credible means "believable", the noun credibility means "believability". (But we no longer use incredible to mean the literal opposite of credible, just as we no longer use unbelievable as the literal opposite of believable.) Since cred is short for credibility, "street cred" is the kind of credibility among tough young people that you can only get by proving yourself on the mean streets of the inner city.

Synonyms

• believable
• creditable
• likely
• plausible
• presumptive
• probable

Examples of credible in a Sentence

We've received credible information about the group's location.

She does a credible job of playing the famous singer.

Recent Examples on the Web

While there have been no credible claims of fraud contributing to Donald Trump’s victory last week and the vote does not appear to have even been close, the election was marred by foreign interference, a commonplace occurrence in every U.S. election since 2016. —Colin P. Clarke, The Mercury News, 12 Nov. 2024

The Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division continues to ask for the public’s assistance and is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for credible information that leads to Mischa Johnson’s recovery. —Anna Turning, NBC News, 8 Nov. 2024

One online threat to shoot up a polling place in Detroit was deemed not credible. —Detroit Free Press Staff, Detroit Free Press, 6 Nov. 2024

Ultimately, China cannot view Russia as a credible nuclear power, or partner, if Russia cannot secure its nuclear warheads away from military operations. —William M. Moon, Foreign Affairs, 5 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Latin credibilis, from credere — see credence

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

credible

adjective

cred·​i·​ble ˈkred-ə-bəl 

: offering reasonable grounds for being believed

a credible story

credibly

ˈkred-ə-blē 

adverb