Plausible
adjectiveSeeming reasonable, believable, or likely to be true.
How to spell plausible
9 letters · 3 syllables
How to pronounce plausible
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does plausible mean?
- adjectiveSeeming reasonable, believable, or likely to be true.
Plausible in a sentence
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The witness gave a plausible account of where she had been that evening.
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His excuse for missing the meeting sounded plausible enough to escape any blame.
Where does plausible come from?
Language of origin: Latin
The word traces back to the Latin plausibilis, which meant 'deserving applause' or 'worthy of being clapped at'. It was built on the verb plaudere, meaning 'to applaud' or literally 'to clap the hands', the same root that gives us 'applaud' and 'plaudits'. When English adopted the word in the late 1500s, it first carried that flattering sense of something pleasing enough to win approval. Over time the meaning drifted from 'worthy of applause' toward 'seeming reasonable or believable on the surface', sometimes with a faint suggestion that the appearance might not match the truth. The spelling trap lives in the ending: it is -ible, not -able, a clue that comes straight from the Latin -ibilis suffix attached to plaudere.
How the word is built
- plaus- (from Latin plaudere: to applaud, clap)
- -ible (able to be, worthy of)
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