Plausible | Definition of plausible by Merriam-Webster

Full Definition of PLAUSIBLE

1

: superficially fair, reasonable, or valuable but often specious <a plausible pretext>

2

: superficially pleasing or persuasive <a swindler… , then a quack, then a smooth, plausible gentleman — R. W. Emerson>

3

: appearing worthy of belief <the argument was both powerful and plausible>

— plau·si·ble·ness noun

— plau·si·bly \-blē\ adverb

See plausible defined for English-language learners

See plausible defined for kids

I watch the ospreys who nest on Perch Island high atop their white spruce. Our sense of a plausible summer depends much on their diligent success at nest-building and procreation, and on their chicks fledging in late August. —Richard Ford, Wall Street Journal, 14-15 June 2008
… I'd mastered the quick size-up. Does the person seem agreeable over coffee at the drugstore counter and picking up his mail at the post office, drive a plausible vehicle, and know the weather forecast? —Edward Hoagland, Harper's, June 2007
Now, two NASA scientists, both also astronauts, suggest a simpler, safer, and much more plausible way of diverting an offending asteroid. Their method relies on the gravitational tug of a massive, unmanned spacecraft to pull the rock away from a damaging rendezvous with Earth. —R. Cowen, Science News, 12 Nov. 2005
… string theorists can exhibit plausible models of a unified Universe, but unfortunately they cannot explain why we inhabit a particular one. —Michael Atiyah, Nature, 22-29 Dec. 2005
[+]more [-]hide