plausible

English

Etymology

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin plausibilis (“deserving applause, praiseworthy, acceptable, pleasing”), from the participle stem of plaudere (“to applaud”)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈplɔːz.ɪ.bəl/, /ˈplɔːz.ə.bəl/

• Audio (GA):

  (file)

Adjective

plausible (comparative more plausible, superlative most plausible)

1. Seemingly or apparently valid, likely, or acceptable; credible

   a plausible excuse

   • 1988, Andrew Radford, Transformative Grammar: A First Course, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 64:

     In short, the twin assumptions that syntactic rules are category-based, and that there are a highly restricted finite set of categories in any natural language (perhaps no more than a dozen major categories), together with the assumption that the child either knows (innately) or learns (by experience) that all rules are structure-dependent ( =category-based), provide a highly plausible model of language acquisition, in which languages become learnable in a relatively short, finite period of time (a few years).

2. Obtaining approbation; specifically pleasing; apparently right; specious.

   a plausible pretext; plausible manners; a plausible delusion

3. (obsolete) Worthy of being applauded; praiseworthy; commendable; ready.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Bishop Hacket to this entry?)

   • 1955, Lincoln and the Bluegrass: Slavery and Civil War in Kentucky

     […] a coachman named Richard, who was described as a "sensible, well-behaved yellow boy, who is plausible and can read and write."

Derived terms

• plausible deniability
• plausibility
• plausibly

Translations

likely, acceptable

• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Catalan: plausible (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Czech: přijatelný (cs) m, věrohodný m, uvěřitelný (cs) m, hodnověrný (cs) m, plauzibilní
• Dutch: aannemelijk (nl), aanneembaar (nl)
• Esperanto: kredebla
• Estonian: usutav, tõenäoline, mõistlik, vastuvõetav
• Finnish: uskottava (fi)
• French: plausible (fr) m or f
• German: plausibel (de), glaubhaft (de)
• Greek: ευλογοφανής (el) m or f (evlogofanís), ευλογοφανές n (evlogofanés), ευλογοφανείς m pl or f pl (evlogofaneís), ευλογοφανή n pl (evlogofaní)
• Hebrew: please add this translation if you can
• Hindi: मुमकिन (hi) (mumkin)
• Hungarian: elfogadható (hu)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Japanese: please add this translation if you can
• Khmer: please add this translation if you can
• Korean: please add this translation if you can
• Latin: probābilis
• Latvian: iespējams, ticams
• Manx: so-chredjallagh
• Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
• Polish: do przyjęcia
• Portuguese: plausível (pt)
• Romanian: plauzibil (ro) m or n
• Russian: правдоподо́бный (ru) (pravdopodóbnyj), вероя́тный (ru) (verojátnyj), похо́жий на пра́вду (poxóžij na právdu), состоя́тельный (ru) (sostojátelʹnyj), аргументи́рованный (ru) (argumentírovannyj), прие́млемый (ru) (prijémlemyj)
• Serbo-Croatian: plauzibilan (sh), prihvatljiv (sh), moguć (sh), vjerojatan (sh), verovatan (sh)
• Spanish: probable (es), plausible (es)
• Swedish: rimlig (sv), plausibel (sv)
• Thai: please add this translation if you can

obtaining approbation

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Dutch: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: uskottava (fi), pettävä (fi), harhaanjohtava (fi)

worthy of being applauded

• Catalan: plausible (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Czech: ocenitelný
• Dutch: please add this translation if you can
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hindi: प्रशंसनीय (hi) (praśansnīya)
• Polish: chwalebny (pl) m, godny pochwały m
• Portuguese: plausível (pt)
• Russian: досто́йный похвалы́ (dostójnyj poxvalý)
• Spanish: plausible (es)

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Catalan

Adjective

plausible m or f (masculine and feminine plural plausibles)

1. plausible

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French

Pronunciation

• audio:

  (file)

Adjective

plausible (plural plausibles)

1. plausible

Further reading

• “plausible”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

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Middle French

Adjective

plausible m or f (plural plausibles)

1. plausible

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Spanish

Adjective

plausible m or f (masculine and feminine plural plausibles)

1. plausible