Believable
/bɪˈliːvəbəl/
adjectiveBeginnerCommonGeneral
Meaning
Questions
Definitions
1
Capable of being believed; credible; plausible.
/bɪˈliːvəbəl/
adjectiveneutralBeginner
General
Seeming worthy of belief; credible.
His story was completely believable.
💡 Simply: Something that sounds true and easy to believe.
More Examples
2
The evidence presented was not believable.
How It's Used
News Reporting
"The witness gave a believable account of the events."
Fiction Writing
"The characters in the novel were so believable that I felt I knew them."
From Middle English *belevable, from beleven "believe" + -able. The suffix -able signifies 'capable of being' or 'worthy of'.
The word has been used in a similar sense since Middle English, consistently referring to the credibility of a statement or narrative.
Memory tip
Think 'believe' + '-able' - capable of being believed.
Practice
Base: believe
beleivablebeleveablebelievible
Usage
60%Spoken
40%Written