different between surprising vs incredible

English

Etymology

From surprise +? -ing.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /s??p?a?z??/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /s??p?a?z??/
• (General American, r-dissimilation) IPA^(key): /s??p?a?z??/
• Hyphenation: sur?pris?ing
• Rhymes: -a?z??

Verb

surprising

1. present participle of surprise

Adjective

surprising (comparative more surprising, superlative most surprising)

1. Causing surprise.

Synonyms

• astonishing, unexpected

Derived terms

• surprisingly

See Thesaurus:surprising

Translations

Noun

surprising (plural surprisings)

1. A situation in which somebody is surprised.
   • 1983, David Dowling, Novelists on Novelists (page xii)

     But the comments of most of these novelists are the record of their continual surprisings by the varieties of moral and aesthetic truths.

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