incredible
See also: incrédible
English
Etymology
From Middle English incredible, from Latin incrēdibilis (“that cannot be believed”), from in- (“not”) + crēdibilis (“worthy of belief”), from crēdō (“believe”).
Pronunciation
- (US) enPR: ĭngkrĕ'dəbəl, IPA(key): /ɪŋˈkɹɛdəbəl/, [ɪ̈ŋˈkɹ̥ʷɛɾəbəɫ], [ɪ̈ŋˈkɹ̥ʷɛɾəbɫ̩]
- (UK) IPA(key): /ɪŋˈkɹɛdɪbəl/
Audio (UK) (file) - Rhymes: -ɛdɪbəl
Adjective
incredible (comparative more incredible, superlative most incredible)
- (literally) Too implausible to be credible; beyond belief; unbelievable. [from 15th c.]
- 1955, A. W. Schorger, The Passenger Pigeon: Its Natural History and Extinction, →ISBN, page vii:
- The extinction of a species once so numerous seemed incredible.
- 1980 September 16, Senator John Glenn, quoted in William A. Schwartz et al., The Nuclear Seduction: Why the Arms Race Doesn’t Matter—And What Does, University of California Press (1990, 1993), →ISBN, page 29:
- I get lost in what is credible and not credible. This whole thing gets so incredible when you consider wiping out whole nations, it is difficult to establish credibility.
- 1986 June 6, Richard Feynman, “Personal observations on the reliability of the Shuttle”, in Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident, Report to the President:
- The other may be that they sincerely believed it to be true, demonstrating an almost incredible lack of communication between themselves and their working engineers.
- 2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin 2010, page 796:
- He therefore found revealed religion incredible in a literal sense, and, as Bayle had done before him, he radically separated morality from the practice of organized religion.
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- (figuratively) Amazing; astonishing; awe-inspiring.
- He was so wrapped up in watching the incredible special effects that he couldn't keep track of the story.
- (figuratively) Marvellous; profoundly affecting; wonderful.
- I had such an incredible slice of pizza last night that I simply can't think about anything else.
Synonyms
- unbelievable
Antonyms
- credible
Derived terms
- incredibility
- incredibleness
Related terms
- credibility
- creed
- incredibility
- incredibly
Translations
too implausible to be credible
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amazing
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marvellous
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