Plausible \Plau"si*ble\, a. [L. plausibilis praiseworthy, from
plaudere, plausum, to applaud, clap the hands, strike, beat.]
1. Worthy of being applauded; praiseworthy; commendable;
ready. [Obs.] --Bp. Hacket.
[1913 Webster]
2. Obtaining approbation; specifically pleasing; apparently
right; specious; as, a plausible pretext; plausible
manners; a plausible delusion. "Plausible and popular
arguments." --Clarendon.
[1913 Webster]
3. Using specious arguments or discourse; as, a plausible
speaker.
[1913 Webster]
[1913 Webster]
Syn: Plausible, Specious.
Usage: Plausible denotes that which seems reasonable, yet
leaves distrust in the judgment. Specious describes
that which presents a fair appearance to the view and
yet covers something false. Specious refers more
definitely to the act or purpose of false
representation; plausible has more reference to the
effect on the beholder or hearer. An argument may by
specious when it is not plausible because its
sophistry is so easily discovered.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
plausible
adj 1: apparently reasonable and valid [ant: implausible]
2: likely but not certain to be or become true or real; "a
likely result"; "he foresaw a probable loss" [syn: probable,
likely] [ant: improbable]
3: within the realm of credibility; "not a very likely excuse";
"a plausible story" [syn: likely]
4: appearing to merit belief or acceptance; "a credible
witness"; "a plausible story" [syn: credible]
WordNet (r) 2.0
67 Moby Thesaurus words for "plausible":
acceptable, admissible, apparent, apparently sound, believable,
casuistic, cogent, cogitable, colorable, colored, conceivable,
conceivably possible, contingent, credible, creditable, deceitful,
deceptive, disingenuous, empty, fallacious, fiduciary, gilded,
hollow, humanly possible, illusive, imaginable, insincere,
jesuitic, just, justifiable, legitimate, likely, logical,
meretricious, misleading, ostensible, overrefined, oversubtle,
philosophistic, possible, potential, presentable, probable,
rational, reasonable, reliable, sane, seeming, sensible, smooth,
sophistic, sophistical, sound, specious, tenable, thinkable,
tinsel, trustworthy, trusty, unexceptionable, unimpeachable,
unquestionable, well-argued, well-founded, well-grounded,
wholesome, worthy of faith
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
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