Word: plausible (adjective)

Associations

"Plausible" means something that seems reasonable or believable. It is often used when you want to say that an idea, explanation, or story could be true or possible.

• The detective found a plausible explanation for the missing keys. (The explanation seems likely or believable.)
• She gave a plausible excuse for being late to the meeting. (Her excuse sounds reasonable.)
• His story about why he missed the test was plausible, so the teacher believed him. (The story could be true.) A well-known synonym is "possible," but "plausible" usually means more than just possible—it means believable or likely in a logical way. For example, something can be possible but not plausible if it is very unlikely or strange.

Substitution

Other words you can use instead of "plausible" include:

• believable (focuses on whether people can believe it)
• reasonable (focuses on logic and sense)
• credible (often used for sources or people, meaning trustworthy) Using "believable" makes it more about whether people accept it, while "reasonable" is about logic, and "credible" is about trustworthiness.

Deconstruction

The word "plausible" comes from Latin "plausibilis," which means "deserving applause" or "worthy of approval." The root "plaus-" relates to clapping or approval, so something plausible is worthy of acceptance or approval because it sounds right. The suffix "-ible" means "able to be," so "plausible" means "able to be approved or accepted."

Inquiry

• Can you think of a time when you heard a story that was possible but not plausible? What made it unbelievable?
• How do you decide if something is plausible in your daily life, like news or explanations?
• Can you make a sentence using "plausible" about a situation you experienced?