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

Without fair elections, an honest media environment and a credible opposition, voters can’t correct their country’s course at the ballot box, providing competitive authoritarian regimes little incentive to do anything but enrich themselves. —Elizabeth Shackelford, Chicago Tribune, 7 Mar. 2025

But in time, other countries—perhaps Germany itself—might feel the need if a credible European deterrent is not established quickly, experts say. —Tommy Tuberville, Newsweek, 7 Mar. 2025

There’s something fundamentally threatening of credible data suggesting a decline in the role and prominence of a historical American institution. —Michael Peregrine, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2025

Then An Inconvenient Truth had credible people bringing attention to a very real and serious situation that has global stakes. —James Hibberd, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 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