To maintain a credible threat of intervention, we have to maintain a credible alliance.
credibly (kredɪbli)graded adverb [usually ADVERB with verb]
Ministers can equally credibly claim that the opposition is to blame.
2. adjective
A credible candidate, policy, or system, for example, is one that appears to have a chance of being successful.
Mr Robertson would be a credible candidate.
The challenge before the opposition is to offer credible alternative policies forthe future.
crediblygraded adverb [ADVERB with verb]
He was the only figure who could credibly run the country.
More Synonyms of credible
credible in British English
(ˈkrɛdɪbəl)
adjective
1.
capable of being believed
2.
trustworthy or reliable
the latest claim is the only one to involve a credible witness
Derived forms
credibleness (ˈcredibleness)
noun
credibly (ˈcredibly)
adverb
Word origin
C14: from Latin crēdibilis, from Latin crēdere to believe
credible in American English
(ˈkrɛdəbəl)
adjective
that can be believed; believable; reliable
SIMILAR WORDS: ˈplausible
Derived forms
credibility (ˌcrediˈbility)
noun or ˈcredibleness
credibly (ˈcredibly)
adverb
Word origin
ME < L credibilis < credere: see creed
Examples of 'credible' in a sentence
credible
There are now credible claims that the regime has used chemical weapons against civilians.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
It is equally credible that her sense of an ending was illusory.
The Times Literary Supplement (2011)
Central to its working is that the threat offered must be a credible one.
Mcinnes, Colin & Sheffield G.D (eds.) Warfare in the Twentieth Century (1988)
But one thing fewer that they have to worry about is the threat of a credible opposition.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
When you put it like that his venture seems barely credible.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
The verdict has caused international outrage amid a lack of any credible evidence to sustain the charges.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
What they are trying to do is prove they are a credible alternative force.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
The proffered new evidence was plainly credible and was provided by experts distinguished in their fields.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
No credible evidence of such an exodus has been provided.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Nor has he put forward a credible alternative to the fuel and food price rises now stirring popular discontent.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Radical socialists have seen this as "betrayal" but they have always lacked a credible political alternative to it.
Hirst, Paul After Thatcher (1989)
The timing for a credible British challenge for the trophy could not be better.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
That would be great as political theatre but not for mounting a credible challenge to the Democrats.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
And a credible challenge is what the Democratic incumbent needs to rouse him from his torpor.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Democracy needs a healthy, credible opposition.
The Sun (2016)
Seems credible, and some pollsters are sure this would help.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Were the corruption claims credible?
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
How credible are these claims?
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
It is barely credible that no one knew what was happening in the fortified compound - a few hundred metres from an elite military academy.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
An equally credible explanation is that the parties agreed to proceed because they felt they had a case if coercion was defined as "deferential fear '.
Amanda Mackenzie Stuart Consuelo & Alva: Love and Power in the Gilded Age (2005)
In other languages
credible
British English: credible /ˈkrɛdɪbl/ ADJECTIVE
Credible means able to be trusted or believed.
We have two very credible witnesses.
American English: credible
Arabic: مَوْثُوق به
Brazilian Portuguese: acreditável
Chinese: 可信的
Croatian: vjerodostojan
Czech: věrohodný
Danish: troværdig
Dutch: geloofwaardig
European Spanish: creíble
Finnish: uskottava
French: crédible
German: glaubwürdig
Greek: αξιόπιστος
Italian: credibile
Japanese: 信用できる
Korean: 신용할 수 있는
Norwegian: troverdig
Polish: wiarygodny
European Portuguese: credível
Romanian: credibil
Russian: правдоподобный
Latin American Spanish: creíble
Swedish: trovärdig
Thai: น่าเชื่อถือ
Turkish: güvenilir
Ukrainian: гідний довіри
Vietnamese: đáng tin cậy
All related terms of 'credible'
credible plan
A plan is a method of achieving something that you have worked out in detail beforehand .
credible evidence
Evidence is anything that you see, experience, read , or are told that causes you to believe that something is true or has really happened .
credible witness
A witness to an event such as an accident or crime is a person who saw it.
credible explanation
If you give an explanation of something that has happened , you give people reasons for it, especially in an attempt to justify it.
street credibility
Street credibility is the same as → street cred .
Chinese translation of 'credible'
credible
(ˈkrɛdɪbl)
adj
[person, organization]可靠的 (kěkào de)
[candidate, policy, idea]有希望的 (yǒu xīwàng de)
[statement, claim]可信的 (kěxìn de)
1 (adjective)
Definition
capable of being believed
This claim seems perfectly credible to me.
Synonyms
believable
believable evidence
possible
It's just possible that he was trying to put me off the trip.
likely
It's likely that he still has it.
reasonable
He's a reasonable sort of chap.
probable
It is probable that food prices will increase.
plausible
That explanation seems entirely plausible to me.
conceivable
It is just conceivable that a single survivor may be found.
imaginable
They encourage every activity imaginable.
tenable
This argument is simply not tenable.
thinkable
At the same time, language makes thinkable the unreal and unreasonable.
supposable
verisimilar
Opposites
unlikely
,
incredible
,
doubtful
,
unbelievable
,
questionable
,
inconceivable
,
implausible
2 (adjective)
Definition
trustworthy or reliable
the evidence of credible witnesses
Synonyms
reliable
She was efficient and reliable.
honest
My dad was the most honest man I have ever met.
dependable
He was a good friend and a dependable companion.
trustworthy
He is a trustworthy, level-headed teacher.
sincere
He accepted her apologies as sincere.
trusty
a trusty member of the crew
Opposites
unreliable
,
dishonest
,
untrustworthy
,
insincere
,
not dependable
Additional synonyms
in the sense of conceivable
Definition
capable of being understood, believed, or imagined
It is just conceivable that a single survivor may be found.