different between improbable vs incredible

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French improbable, from im- +? probable.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?m?p??b?bl?/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?m?p??b?bl?/
• Hyphenation: im?prob?a?ble

Adjective

improbable (comparative more improbable, superlative most improbable)

1. Not likely to be true.

2. Not likely to happen.

Antonyms

• probable

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

See also

• impossible

Catalan

Adjective

improbable (masculine and feminine plural improbables)

1. improbable, unlikely

   Antonym: probable

Derived terms

• improbablement

Related terms

• improbabilitat

Further reading

• “improbable” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “improbable” in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana.
• “improbable” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “improbable” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

French

Etymology

From im- +? probable.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??.p??.babl/

Adjective

improbable (plural improbables)

1. unlikely, improbable (not likely)

   Synonym: peu probable

Further reading

• “improbable” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Galician

Alternative forms

• improbábel

Adjective

improbable m or f (plural improbables)

1. improbable (not likely to happen)

   Antonym: probable

Derived terms

• improbabilidade

Further reading

• “improbable” in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega, Royal Galician Academy.

Spanish

Adjective

improbable (plural improbables)

1. improbable, unlikely

   Antonym: probable

Derived terms

Further reading

• “improbable” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin incr?dibilis (“that cannot be believed”), from in- (“not”) + cr?dibilis (“worthy of belief”), from cr?d? (“believe”).

Pronunciation

• (US) enPR: ?ngkr?'d?b?l, IPA^(key): /???k??d?b?l/, [????k??????b??], [????k??????b??]
• (UK) IPA^(key): /???k??d?b?l/
• Rhymes: -?d?b?l

Adjective

incredible (comparative more incredible, superlative most incredible)

1. (literally) Too implausible to be credible; beyond belief; unbelievable. [from 15th c.]
   • 1980 September 16, Senator John Glenn, quoted in William A. Schwartz et al., The Nuclear Seduction: Why the Arms Race Doesn’t Matter—And What Does, University of California Press (1990, 1993), ?ISBN, page 29:

     I get lost in what is credible and not credible. This whole thing gets so incredible when you consider wiping out whole nations, it is difficult to establish credibility.

   • 2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin 2010, page 796:

     He therefore found revealed religion incredible in a literal sense, and, as Bayle had done before him, he radically separated morality from the practice of organized religion.

2. (figuratively) Amazing; astonishing; awe-inspiring.

3. (figuratively) Marvellous; profoundly affecting; wonderful.

Synonyms

• unbelievable

Antonyms

• credible

Related terms

Translations