incredible

English

Etymology

From Latin incrēdibilis (“that cannot be believed”), from in- (“not”) + crēdibilis (“worthy of belief”), from crēdō (“believe”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: ĭnkrĕ'dəbəl, IPA: /ɪnˈkrɛdəbəl/, SAMPA: /In"krEd@b@l/

Adjective

incredible (comparative more incredible, superlative most incredible)

1. Too implausible to be credible; beyond belief; unbelievable. [from 15th c.]
   • 2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin 2010, p. 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.

2. Amazing; astonishing; awe-inspiring.
   • He was so wrapped up in watching the incredible special effects that he couldn't keep track of the story.
3. Marvelous; profoundly affecting; wonderful.
   • I had such an incredible slice of pizza last night that I simply can't think about anything else.

Synonyms

• unbelievable

Related terms

• credibility
• credible
• creed
• incredibility
• incredibly

Translations

too implausible to be credible

Catalan: increïble (ca) Czech: neuvěřitelný (cs) m. Dutch: ongelofelijk (nl) Finnish: uskomaton (fi), epäuskottava (fi) French: incroyable (fr) German: unglaublich, unglaubhaft Italian: incredibile (it) m. and f. Japanese: ありえない (arienai), 飛躍しすぎている (hiyaku-sisugiteiru)

Manx: neuchredjallagh (gv) Norwegian: Bokmål: utrolig (nb), utrulig (nb) Nynorsk: utruleg (nn), utrulig (nn) Portuguese: inacreditável (pt) m. and f., inacreditáveis (pt) m. and f. pl. Spanish: increíble (es) Swedish: otrolig (sv) Turkish: inanılmaz (tr)

amazing

Catalan: increïble (ca) Dutch: ongelofelijk (nl) Finnish: uskomaton (fi) French: incroyable (fr) German: unglaublich (de) Italian: incredibile (it) Japanese: 驚異的な (kyōiteki-na)

Norwegian: Bokmål: utrolig (nb), utrulig (nb) Nynorsk: utruleg (nn), utrulig (nn) Portuguese: incrível (pt) m. and f., incríveis (pt) m. and f. pl. Spanish: increíble (es) Turkish: şaşırtıcı (tr)

marvelous

Finnish: uskomaton (fi) French: incroyable (fr) German: unglaublich (de) Japanese: 素晴らしい (subarashī) Norwegian: Bokmål: utrolig (nb), utrulig (nb), fantastisk (nb) Nynorsk: utruleg (nn), utrulig (nn), fantastisk (nn)

Portuguese: incrível (pt) m. and f., incríveis (pt) m. and f. pl. Turkish: olağanüstü (tr)