believable

B3E1L1I1E1V4A1B3L1E1
/bɪˈliːvəbl̩//bi-//bə-/

adjective

Capable of being believed; credible.

“believable story”

Opposite
Less commonScrabble 17

Meanings

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

comparative more believable · comparative nonstandard rare believabler · superlative most believable · nonstandard rare superlative believablest

  1. Capable of being believed; credible.

    believable story

    5 more examples

    believable answer

    believable account

    So far as cartoons are concerned these days, nothing—not even sewage works—is sacred, and everything is thereby readabler and believabler.

    1953 February, American Water Works Association, “Percolation and Runoff”, in Journal, volume 45, number 2, Denver, Colo., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 40, columns 1–2

    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.

    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

    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.

    2013, Paddy Duffy, “Introduction”, in Did That Actually Happen? A Journey Through Ridiculous Moments in Irish Politics, Dublin: Hachette Books Ireland, →ISBN, page 1

    Synonyms: plausible

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveCapable of being believed; credible.

Similar
Opposite

More synonyms by meaning

adjectivecapable of being believed

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Middle Englishbilevable
  2. Englishbelievable

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

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Basque sinesgarri
  • sinesgarricapable of being believed; credible
Bulgarian правдоподобен
  • правдоподобен (pravdopodoben)capable of being believed; credible
Catalan creïble
  • creïblecapable of being believed; credible
Chinese Mandarin 可相信的
  • 可相信的 (kě xiāngxìn de)capable of being believed; credible
Czech uvěřitelný
  • uvěřitelnýcapable of being believed; credible
Danish trolig, troværdig
  • troligcapable of being believed; credible
  • troværdigcapable of being believed; credible
Esperanto kredebla, kredinda
  • kredeblacapable of being believed; credible
  • kredindacapable of being believed; credible
Finnish uskottava
  • uskottavacapable of being believed; credible
French croyable, crédible
  • croyablecapable of being believed; credible
  • crédiblecapable of being believed; credible
German glaubhaft
  • glaubhaftcapable of being believed; credible
Hungarian hihető
  • hihetőcapable of being believed; credible
Icelandic trúanlegur, sennilegur
  • trúanlegurcapable of being believed; credible
  • sennilegurcapable of being believed; credible
Irish sochreidte
  • sochreidtecapable of being believed; credible
Japanese 信じられる
  • 信じられる (shinjirareru)capable of being believed; credible
Latin crēdibilis
  • crēdibiliscapable of being believed; credible
Latvian ticams
  • ticamscapable of being believed; credible
Norwegian Bokmål troverdig
  • troverdigcapable of being believed; credible
Polish wiarygodny
  • wiarygodnycapable of being believed; credible
Portuguese crível
  • crívelcapable of being believed; credible
Romanian credibil
  • credibilcapable of being believed; credible
Russian правдоподо́бный, вероя́тный
  • правдоподо́бный (pravdopodóbnyj)capable of being believed; credible
  • вероя́тный (verojátnyj)capable of being believed; credible
Spanish creíble
  • creíblecapable of being believed; credible
Swedish trovärdig
  • trovärdigcapable of being believed; credible
Turkish inandırıcı
  • inandırıcıcapable of being believed; credible
Welsh credadwy
  • credadwycapable of being believed; credible
Cite this entry
APA

believable. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/believable

MLA

“believable.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/believable. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “believable,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/believable.

Source: believable on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.