Plausible

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  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]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  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}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  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