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Webster 1913 Edition


Plausible

Plau′si-ble

,
Adj.
[L.
plausibilis
praiseworthy, from
plaudere
,
plausum
, to applaud, clap the hands, strike, beat.]
1.
Worthy of being applauded; praiseworthy; commendable; ready.
[Obs.]
Bp. Hacket.
2.
Obtaining approbation; specifically pleasing; apparently right; specious;
as, a
plausible
pretext;
plausible
manners; a
plausible
delusion.
Plausible and popular arguments.”
Clarendon.
3.
Using specious arguments or discourse;
as, a
plausible
speaker
.
Syn.
Plausible
,
Specious
.
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.

Webster 1828 Edition


Plausible

PLAUS'IBLE

,
Adj.
s as z. [L. plausibilis, from plaudo, to clap hands in token of approbation; laus, laudo; Eng. loud.]
1.
That may be applauded; that may gain favor or approbation; hence, superficially pleasing; apparently right; specious; popular; as a plausible argument; a plausible pretext; a plausible doctrine.
2.
Using specious arguments or discourse; as a plausible man.

Definition 2024


plausible

plausible

English

Adjective

plausible (comparative more plausible, superlative most plausible)

  1. Seemingly or apparently valid, likely, or acceptable; credible: a plausible excuse.
    • 1988, Andrew Radford, Transformative Grammar: A First Course, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-34750-5, page 64:
      In short, the twin assumptions that syntactic rules are category-based, and that there are a highly restricted finite set of categories in any natural language (perhaps no more than a dozen major categories), together with the assumption that the child either knows (innately) or learns (by experience) that all rules are structure-dependent ( =category-based), provide a highly plausible model of language acquisition, in which languages become learnable in a relatively short, finite period of time (a few years).
  2. Obtaining approbation; specifically pleasing; apparently right; specious.
    a plausible pretext; plausible manners; a plausible delusion
  3. (obsolete) Worthy of being applauded; praiseworthy; commendable; ready.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Bishop Hacket to this entry?)

Derived terms

Translations


Catalan

Adjective

plausible m, f (masculine and feminine plural plausibles)

  1. plausible

French

Adjective

plausible m, f (plural plausibles)

  1. plausible

Middle French

Adjective

plausible m, f (plural plausibles)

  1. plausible

Spanish

Adjective

plausible m, f (plural plausibles)

  1. plausible