Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective So implausible as to elicit disbelief; unbelievable.
  • adjective Astonishing, extraordinary, or extreme.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Not credible; that cannot be credited; surpassing the possibility of belief.
  • Surpassing belief as to what is possible; hard to believe; unimaginable; inconceivable.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Not credible; surpassing belief; too extraordinary and improbable to admit of belief; unlikely; marvelous; fabulous.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Amazing; astonishing; awe-inspiring.
  • adjective Marvelous; profoundly affecting; wonderful.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective beyond belief or understanding

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Latin incrēdibilis : in-, not; see in– + crēdibilis, believable; see credible.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin incrēdibilis ("that cannot be believed"), from in- ("not") + crēdibilis ("worthy of belief"), from crēdō ("believe").

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Examples

  • Of the obstinate effort to bring about an armed intervention, on the lines marked out by Russell’s letter to Palmerston from Gotha, 17 September, 1862, nothing could be said beyond Gladstone’s plea in excuse for his speech in pursuance of the same effort, that it was “the most singular and palpable error, ” “the least excusable, ” “a mistake of incredible grossness, ” which passed defence; but while Gladstone threw himself on the mercy of the public for his speech, he attempted no excuse for Lord Russell who led him into the “incredible grossness” of announcing the Foreign Secretary’s intent.

    The Battle of the Rams (1863) 1918

  • He asked them to lead a fundraising drive for Haiti, praising their efforts during past disasters and saying they can tap what he calls the incredible generosity and can-do spirit of the American people.

    CNN Transcript Jan 16, 2010 2010

  • But go over to the left, and you will see people who are happy with Colbert's what they call incredible roast, others blaming the mainstream media for not broadcasting more of what they say was a brave and shocking performance.

    CNN Transcript May 1, 2006 2006

  • However, no retaliation, no action from Israel as yet, and they have exercised what they called incredible restraint in the wake of several other suicide bombings and attacks in recent days, in the last couple of weeks.

    CNN Transcript Mar 27, 2002 2002

  • He started singing and that cued Alessandra Ambrosio to come out in a leather harness, push-up bra, thigh-high leather boots and a long, flowing cape splashed with the word "incredible" in cartoon-style letters trailing behind her.

    StarTribune.com rss feed 2011

  • To diGenova, it was one of the worst examples of prosecutors caring more about winning a case than finding justice, and further proof of what he called incredible arrogance of many lawyers in the department.

    ModerateVoters.org 2009

  • Scott said participants in Lobby Day came from more than 60 percent of Texas '150 House districts, which he called incredible given the geographic enormity of the state.

    unknown title 2009

  • To diGenova, it was one of the worst examples of prosecutors caring more about winning a case than finding justice, and further proof of what he called incredible arrogance of many lawyers in the department.

    KCRA.com - Local News 2009

  • Scott said participants in Lobby Day came from more than 60 percent of Texas '150 House districts, which he called incredible given the geographic enormity of the state.

    unknown title 2009

  • To diGenova, it was one of the worst examples of prosecutors caring more about winning a case than finding justice, and further proof of what he called incredible arrogance of many lawyers in the department.

    ModerateVoters.org 2009

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