inverosimile

Inverosimile is an adjective used in several Romance languages, including Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese, to denote something unlikely or implausible. It describes claims, narratives, or explanations that strain credulity or exceed what is reasonably probable. In literary criticism and journalism, it can describe a plot twist, a rationale, or events that seem too extraordinary to be credible.

Etymology and form: the term derives from a form related to verosímil, meaning plausible or true-seeming, with a negating prefix. Its literal sense is “not likely,” built from verosímilis in Latin or its descendants, combining roots linked to truth and similarity. Variants reflect each language’s orthography: Italian inverosimile; Spanish inverosímil (accent on í); Portuguese inverossímil (double s); regional forms such as Galician resemble the Spanish variant.

Usage: Inverosimile conveys skepticism or doubt about credibility. It can be used to critique a justification, a narrative’s coherence, or a real-world claim that appears to lack plausibility. In fiction, it may indicate that events, while not impossible, are improbable within the established world-building. It is less strong than terms meaning outright absurdity and can carry a neutral or mildly ironic tone depending on context.

Examples:

- Italian: La spiegazione sembra inverosimile.

- Spanish: La historia me parece inverosímil.

- Portuguese: O argumento é inverossímil.

See also: verosímil, plausível, incredulidad.

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