credible

adjective

cred·i·ble ˈkre-də-bəl

Synonyms of credible next

: 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

: 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.

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 Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive. —

Neri Zilber, The Christian Science Monitor, 9 Nov. 2023 Silber says his team hasn’t identified any credible threats made against Jewish schools in the area since the Hamas attack, but demand for more security among schools is growing as the war continues and as word of the new fund spreads — and Silber works hard to spread it. —

Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 7 Nov. 2023 Again, allegations that were found to be credible resulted in disciplinary action. —

Benjamin Weinthal, Fox News, 7 Nov. 2023 The department's civil rights division launched separate probes at the Sheriff Al Cannon Detention Center in Charleston and the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center in Columbia after reviewing credible allegations. —

Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 2 Nov. 2023 More importantly, all of this must be done by a credible source who this audience trusts. —

Christopher Morse, STAT, 2 Nov. 2023 The Israel-Hamas war is fundamentally centered on the Palestinian plight and the need for a credible political solution; until one exists, Iran will remain uniquely influential in the Palestinian issue. —

Mohammad Ayatollahi Tabaar, Foreign Affairs, 1 Nov. 2023 In January 2020, then Attorney General Bill Barr tapped Mr. Brady to vet information related to Ukrainian corruption, and to pass along credible material to offices with ongoing investigations. —

The Editorial Board, WSJ, 30 Oct. 2023 However, the codification by a credible group of emergency physicians gave it so much influence. —

Utsha G. Khatri, STAT, 27 Oct. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'credible.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.