different between incredibly vs incredible

English

Etymology

incredible +? -ly

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /???k??d?bli/

Adverb

incredibly (comparative more incredibly, superlative most incredibly)

1. (manner) In an incredible manner; not to be believed.
   • 1965, Bruce Mansfield, Australian Democrat: The Career of Edward William O'Sullivan, 1846-1910

     With the parental exaggeration which the birth of his various enterprises always induced, O'Sullivan spoke incredibly of eighty-five "enrolled" members.

2. (degree) To a great extent; extremely.

3. Used to note the surprising or hard-to-believe nature of what is being said and suggest that it is nevertheless true.

Translations

Anagrams

• bicylinder

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