Word of the Day

: August 7, 2008

plausible

adjective PLAW-zuh-bul

What It Means

1 : seemingly fair, reasonable, or valuable but often not so

2 : superficially pleasing or persuasive

3 : appearing worthy of belief

plausible in Context

Her excuses for missing work were plausible at first, but soon became ridiculous.

Did You Know?

Today the word "plausible" usually means "reasonable" or "believable," but it once held the meanings "worthy of being applauded" and "approving." It comes to us from the Latin adjective "plausibilis" ("worthy of applause"), which in turn derives from the verb "plaudere," meaning "to applaud or clap." Other "plaudere" descendants in English include "applaud," "plaudit" (the earliest meaning of which was "a round of applause"), and "explode" (from Latin "explodere," meaning "to drive off the stage by clapping").