credible

/'kredəbl/

Thân thiện

A credible witness gave clear testimony in court.

Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Appearing to merit belief or acceptance: Describes something or someone that seems believable, trustworthy, or convincing.
   • Capable of being believed: Describes information, testimony, or a source that can reasonably be accepted as true.

Usage

• Use "credible" to describe sources of information (e.g., news, studies, witnesses) that are reliable and trustworthy.
• Use "credible" to describe plans, threats, or explanations that are convincing and plausible.
• Important Distinction: Do not confuse "credible" (believable) with "credulous" (too ready to believe, gullible). A person or source is ; a person who believes things too easily is .

Examples

• Describing a source:
  • The journalist cited several credible sources in her report.
  • We need a credible witness to support this claim.
• Describing information or a claim:
  • The scientist presented credible evidence for her theory.
  • His explanation for being late was not credible.
• Describing a possibility:
  • A credible threat was made against the embassy.

Advanced Usage

• "Credible interval": In statistics, a range of values that is likely to contain an unknown parameter with a certain probability.
  • The poll's results were reported with a 95% credible interval.
• "Credible commitment": In economics and political science, a promise or policy that is believable because the issuer has an incentive to keep it.
  • The government's credible commitment to low inflation stabilized the markets.

Variants and Related Words

• Credibility (n): The quality of being trusted and believed in.
  • The scandal damaged the politician's credibility.
• Incredible (adj): 1. So extraordinary as to seem impossible; unbelievable. 2. (Informal) Amazing, marvelous.
  • The athlete's strength was incredible. (Meaning 1)
  • We had an incredible vacation. (Meaning 2)
• Credibly (adv): In a believable or convincing manner.
  • She argued her case credibly.

Synonyms

• Believable: Able to be believed; convincing.
• Plausible: Seeming reasonable or probable.
• Convincing: Capable of causing someone to believe that something is true or real.
• Trustworthy: Able to be relied on as honest or truthful.

Antonyms

• Incredible: (Formal sense) Not believable.
• Implausible: Not seeming reasonable or probable; failing to convince.
• Unreliable: Not able to be trusted or depended on.

Common Errors and Clarifications

• Error: Using "credible" to mean "gullible" or "too ready to believe."
  • Incorrect: He is so credible; he believes every rumor he hears. (Here, "credulous" is the correct word.)
  • Correct: He is so credulous; he believes every rumor he hears.
  • Correct: She is a credible expert; her research is always thorough.

Học thuật

Adjective

1. appearing to merit belief or acceptance
   • a credible witness
2. (a common but incorrect usage where `credulous' would be appropriate) credulous
   • she was not the...credible fool he expected
3. capable of being believed
   • completely credible testimony
   • credible information

Từ đồng nghĩa

• believable