Credibile

Credibile is an Italian adjective meaning capable of being believed; plausible, credible, or trustworthy. It is used to describe statements, explanations, narratives, or sources that appear true or reliable. For example, la notizia è credibile or sono stati forniti documenti credibili. The noun form is credibilità, and the adverb is credibilmente.

Etymology: Credibile derives from Latin creditibilis, formed from credere “to believe,” with the suffix -ibile to indicate capacity. It shares cognates with related Romance languages and with the English word credible.

Grammar and usage: Credibile is an -ibile adjective. In singular, it does not change for gender: credibile (masculine and feminine). In plural it becomes credibili for both genders. It commonly precedes the noun it modifies, as in una storia credibile, or follows a qualifying phrase. The term can apply to statements, explanations, documents, or people when believability is in question.

Related terminology: The noun form credibilità means credibility, the quality of being believed or trusted. Antonyms include incredibile (incredible) and inverosimile (unbelievable). Related adjectives include plausibile and verosimile (plausible, likely). The verb form credere is the root concept, and affidabile refers to reliability or trustworthiness, often in a broader sense than believability.

Examples of use: La spiegazione è credibile; sono rimasti dubbi sulla provenienza delle fonti, ma molte parti sembrano credibili. In journalism and scholarship, “fonti credibili” are preferred to distinguish believability from proven reliability.