incredible

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See also: incrédible

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ɪŋˈkɹɛdɪbəl/
  • Audio (Southern England)(file)
  • (US) enPR: ĭngkrĕ'dəbəl, IPA(key): /ɪŋˈkɹɛdəbəl/, ,
  • Audio (US)(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɛdɪbəl

Adjective

incredible (comparative more incredible, superlative most incredible)

  1. (literal) Too implausible to be credible; beyond belief; unbelievable.
    • 1955, A. W. Schorger, The Passenger Pigeon: Its Natural History and Extinction, →ISBN, page vii:
      The extinction of a species once so numerous seemed incredible.
    • 1980 September 16, Senator John Glenn, quoted in William A. Schwartz et al., The Nuclear Seduction: Why the Arms Race Doesn’t Matter—And What Does, University of California Press (1990, 1993), →ISBN, page 29:
      I get lost in what is credible and not credible. This whole thing gets so incredible when you consider wiping out whole nations, it is difficult to establish credibility.
    • 1986 June 6, Richard Feynman, “Personal observations on the reliability of the Shuttle”, in Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident, Report to the President:
      The other may be that they sincerely believed it to be true, demonstrating an almost incredible lack of communication between themselves and their working engineers.
    • 2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin, published 2010, page 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. (figurative) 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. (figurative) Marvellous; profoundly affecting; wonderful.
    I had such an incredible slice of pizza last night that I simply can't think about anything else.

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