credible
Americanadjective
-
capable of being believed; believable.
a credible statement.
- Synonyms:
- tenable, reasonable, likely, plausible
-
worthy of belief or confidence; trustworthy.
a credible witness.
adjective
-
capable of being believed
-
trustworthy or reliable
the latest claim is the only one to involve a credible witness
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of credible
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin crēdibilis, from crēd(ere) “to believe, confide, entrust” + -ibilis -ible
Compare meaning
How does credible compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
Someone who's credible is honest and believable. A pathological liar, for example, might not be the most credible witness for your case against the bank robber. Similar to words like reliable and plausible, credible is an adjective that comes to us from the Latin credibilis, meaning “worthy to be believed.” A credible reputation is often earned through consistent good behavior and an overall trustworthy personality. Spill a secret you promised to keep, or lie under oath in a courtroom, and you lose all credibility.
Vocabulary lists containing credible
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Believe It or Not: Cred
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
They were acquitted in July 2025 when Justice Maria Carroccia said she did not find EM's evidence "credible or reliable".
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
“At a time like this, ICE should be trying to do everything it can to rebuild public trust, to reconstruct itself as a credible law enforcement agency,” Shah said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
It’s hard to stay credible when everyone’s looking for signs that the things they’re seeing and reading weren’t made by humans.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
Analysts at Bernstein think that Starlink remains a credible and long-term competitor in the lower-end broadband market, but they have a skeptical view of SpaceX’s ability to deploy wireless services in practice.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026
Having a representative there from Iceland, although Saemi wasn’t an official, helped Bobby somewhat to make a credible case that the country was considering asylum.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
