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believable

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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Etymology

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From Middle English bilevable, beleevable, equivalent to believe +‎ -able.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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believable (comparative more believable or (rare) believabler, superlative most believable or (rare) believablest)

  1. Capable of being believed; credible.
    believable answer
    believable account
    believable story
    • 1953 February, American Water Works Association, “Percolation and Runoff”, in Journal, volume 45, number 2, Denver, Colo., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 40, columns 1–2:
      So far as cartoons are concerned these days, nothing—not even sewage works—is sacred, and everything is thereby readabler and believabler.
    • 1974 November 8, Robert LaBrasca, “‘Streetcar’ good show despite poor staging”, in The Capital Times, volume 115, number 126, Madison, Wis., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 14, column 1:
      Blanche’s quavering voice and fluttering hands are indispensable elements that make it easy for her to be played in a pat and stiff manner, but Fischer has tapped deeper qualities in this acutely neurotic but tragic antiheroine to make her not only believabler, but sympathetic as well.
    • 2013, Paddy Duffy, “Introduction”, in Did That Actually Happen? A Journey Through Ridiculous Moments in Irish Politics, Dublin: Hachette Books Ireland, →ISBN, page 1:
      Like Dr Crane, I too dreamt of the day when I might see my name staring back at me in Easons, and it’s scarcely believable that the day has come. Even scarcerly believabler is the way it came about.

Synonyms

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Antonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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References

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