Credibility Meaning
/kɹɛd.əˈbɪ.ɫɪ.ti/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA reputation impacting one's ability to be believed.
nounA believability of statements by a witness, as measured by whether the testimony is probable or improbable when judged by common experience.
Sentence Examples
He lost his credibility because he betrayed a friend.
The book's weak-point is that it lacks credibility when a married writer recommends remaining unmarried.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The scientist's ____ was destroyed by the fabricated data in the journal.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He lost his ____ because he betrayed a friend.
Word Origin & History
Borrowed from French crédibilité, from Medieval Latin credibilitas, from Latin credibilis. By surface analysis, credible + -ity.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The inability of Trump's own spokespeople to speak authoritatively on the president's thinking and actions -- a challenge even Trump himself has acknowledged -- has left the White House with an enormous credibility gap, and has tarnished the reputations of many of its most visible spokespeople."
— 2017 May 16, Dylan Byers, “Does anyone in Trump's White House have credibility?”, in CNN Business, archived from the original on 22 Mar 2025:
"The 'partygate' controversy has played a major part in undermining the credibility of Boris Johnson and his Government and has led to calls from senior MPs for him to resign."
— 2022 January 26, “Network News: DfT awaits verdict on COVID 'partygate' scandal”, in RAIL, number 949, page 6:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The scientist's ____ was destroyed by the fabricated data in the journal.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He lost his ____ because he betrayed a friend.