Dictionary

incredible en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /ɪŋˈkɹɛdəbəl/ (US)
• ĭngkrĕ'dəbəl (US)
• [ɪ̈ŋˈkɹ̥ʷɛɾəbɫ̩] (US)
• (Southern-England) audio
• (General-American) audio
• /ɪŋˈkɹɛdɪbəl/ (UK)
• [ɪ̈ŋˈkɹ̥ʷɛɾəbəɫ] (US)
• (US) audio

Etymology

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

Meanings

1. (qualifier:literal) Too implausible to be credible; beyond belief.
   • 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. 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), page 29
   • 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. 2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin, published 2010, page 796:
   • 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. 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 extinction of a species once so numerous seemed incredible. 1955, A. W. Schorger, The Passenger Pigeon: Its Natural History and Extinction, →ISBN, page vii:
2. (figuratively) 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. (figuratively) Marvellous; profoundly affecting; wonderful; excellent.
   • I had such an incredible slice of pizza last night that I simply can't think about anything else.

Forms

Antonyms

believable · credible

Coordinates

noncredible · noncredible

Deriveds

incredibleness · incredibility

Relateds

credibility · incredibly · creed · incredibility

Synonyms

unbelievable · awesome · unbelievable · awesome · noncredible · unbelievable

Translations (121)

sk neuveriteľný (too implausible to be credible) · ca increïble (too implausible to be credible) · tr şaşırtıcı (amazing) · mk неверојатен (too implausible to be credible) · ca increïble (amazing) · ru порази́тельный (amazing) · nn utrulig (too implausible to be credible) · de wunderbar (marvellous) · nb fantastisk (marvellous) · de verwunderlich (amazing) · ru изуми́тельный (marvellous) · es increíble (amazing) · ga dochreidte (marvellous) · es de la puta hostia (amazing) · it incredibile (amazing) · nn fantastisk (marvellous) · nn utruleg (marvellous) · nb utrolig (marvellous) · tr olağanüstü (marvellous) · pt incredível (too implausible to be credible) · de herrlich (marvellous) · de unglaubhaft (too implausible to be credible) · ru потряса́ющий (marvellous) · nb utrolig (amazing) · la incrēdibilis (too implausible to be credible) · sh neverojatan (too implausible to be credible) · de unglaublich (too implausible to be credible) · eo nekredebla (too implausible to be credible) · ka დაუჯერებელი (too implausible to be credible) · bg поразителен (amazing) · es maravilloso (marvellous) · be неймаве́рны (too implausible to be credible) · sl neverjeten (too implausible to be credible) · oc incredible (too implausible to be credible) · ja 信じられない (too implausible to be credible) · fi epäuskottava (too implausible to be credible) · es increíble (marvellous) · ru чуде́сный (marvellous) · ru неимове́рный (too implausible to be credible) · gv neuchredjallagh (too implausible to be credible) · eo eksterodinara (amazing) · ast increíble (too implausible to be credible) · fi uskomaton (amazing) · de verblüffend (amazing) · nl ongelofelijk (too implausible to be credible) · fr incrédible (amazing) · tr fevkalade (marvellous) · nn utruleg (amazing) · sh невероватан (too implausible to be credible) · eo mirinda (marvellous) · sh nevjerovatan (too implausible to be credible) · el απίστευτος (amazing) · de erstaunlich (amazing) · ru невероя́тный (too implausible to be credible) · cs neuvěřitelný (too implausible to be credible) · sv otrolig (amazing) · nn utrulig (marvellous) · pt inacreditável (too implausible to be credible) · gl incríbel (too implausible to be credible) · cmn 了不起 (marvellous) · sh nevjerojatan (too implausible to be credible) · el απίστευτος (too implausible to be credible) · fr incroyable (too implausible to be credible) · cmn 驚人的 /惊人的 (marvellous) · ru удиви́тельный (marvellous) · sh невjероjатан (too implausible to be credible) · ru неимове́рный (marvellous) · cy anhygoel (too implausible to be credible) · ro incredibil (marvellous) · la incrēdibilis (amazing) · ru ошеломи́тельный (amazing) · cmn 難以置信 /难以置信 (too implausible to be credible) · fr incroyable (amazing) · ast increyible (too implausible to be credible) · ru потря́сный (amazing) · pt incrível (amazing) · nl ongelofelijk (amazing) · nn utrulig (amazing) · ja ありえない (too implausible to be credible) · az ağlabatmaz (too implausible to be credible) · sh neverovatan (too implausible to be credible) · ro incredibil (amazing) · fi uskomaton (marvellous) · ga dochreidte (amazing) · az inanılmaz (too implausible to be credible) · nb utrulig (amazing) · es increíble (too implausible to be credible) · ja 驚異的な (amazing) · de fabelhaft (marvellous) · bg невероя́тен (too implausible to be credible) · ru потря́сный (marvellous) · pl niewiarygodny (too implausible to be credible) · az ağlasığmaz (too implausible to be credible) · ru потряса́ющий (amazing) · sv otrolig (too implausible to be credible) · vi khó tin (too implausible to be credible) · ru порази́тельный (marvellous) · tr inanılmaz (too implausible to be credible) · ru изуми́тельный (amazing) · sh невероjатан (too implausible to be credible) · gl incrible (too implausible to be credible) · ro incredibil (too implausible to be credible) · be невераго́дны (too implausible to be credible) · sh невjероватан (too implausible to be credible) · fi uskomaton (too implausible to be credible) · gv anchredjallagh (too implausible to be credible) · ja 素晴らしい (marvellous) · it incredibile (too implausible to be credible) · pdt onjleeflich (too implausible to be credible) · nb utrulig (too implausible to be credible) · nn utruleg (too implausible to be credible) · ja 飛躍しすぎている (too implausible to be credible) · nb utrolig (too implausible to be credible) · ga dochreidte (too implausible to be credible) · fr incroyable (marvellous) · ru ошеломи́тельный (marvellous) · nb utrulig (marvellous) · uk неймові́рний (too implausible to be credible) · uk неймові́рний (marvellous) · bg чудесен (marvellous) · pt incrível (marvellous)