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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

There have also been no credible news reports covering the post in question as legitimate. —

Andre Byik, USA TODAY, 31 Jan. 2025 There is barely time to think about which bag to grab on your way out the door to safety and no real way to sort the credible threats from the bluster and theater. —

Dan Perry, Newsweek, 31 Jan. 2025 Lanier said Wednesday that there have been no credible threats in New Orleans since the January attack. —

David Hudnall, Kansas City Star, 31 Jan. 2025 The election was free and fair, with every credible claim of cheating investigated over and over, including state tallies. —

Trudy Rubin, The Mercury News, 30 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for credible