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

Most importantly, consistency and discipline matter: Developing a predictable cadence of authentic, valuable content helps to position the founder as both credible and genuine. —Danylo Borodchuk, Forbes, 19 Mar. 2025

Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive. —Troy Aidan Sambajon, The Christian Science Monitor, 19 Mar. 2025

Tell me all the things that, in your view, make James and Wade not credible witnesses. —Ellise Shafer, Variety, 18 Mar. 2025

In general, autocratic countries struggle to make the kind of credible commitments that joint military planning requires, but a coordinated attack on U.S. interests in multiple regions might still emerge through improvisation. —Christopher S. Chivvis, Foreign Affairs, 18 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for credible

• edible
• incredible
• inedible

Kids Definition

credible

adjective

cred·​i·​ble ˈkred-ə-bəl 

: offering reasonable grounds for being believed

a credible story

credibly

ˈkred-ə-blē 

adverb