plausible
adjective
Ralph Waldo Emerson
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You Can Believe This History of Plausible
Put your hands together for plausible, a word with a sonorous history. Today the word usually means "reasonable" or "believable," but its origins lie in the sensory realm, rather than that of the mind. In fact, plausible comes to us from the Latin adjective plausibilis, meaning "worthy of applause," which in turn derives from the verb plaudere, meaning "to applaud or clap." Other plaudere words include applaud, plaudit (the earliest meaning of which was "a round of applause"), and explode (from the Latin explodere, meaning "to drive off the stage by clapping"). Will the evolution of plaudere continue? Quite plausibly, and to that we say "Bravo."
Synonyms
Examples of plausible in a Sentence
René Heller, Scientific American, January 2015
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
… 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
it's a plausible explanation for the demise of that prehistoric species
Sumantra Maitra, Foreign Affairs, 4 Nov. 2024
The Thin Line Self-government implies a plausible connection between the governing and the governed—an authentic dialogue that allows for dispute and informs deliberation.
—Penny Abeywardena, Forbes, 3 Nov. 2024
Conclave’s third-rail subject matter — a late-stage twist is especially likely to rattle some Catholic moviegoers — meant independent financing was the only plausible route.
—Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 31 Oct. 2024
The onslaught by the Israel Defense Forces shows no sign of slowing, even months after the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) warning of plausible risk of genocide made headline news.
—Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Plausible.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plausible. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
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plausible
adjective
from Latin plausibilis "deserving applause, pleasing," from plausus, past participle of plaudere "to clap" — related to applaud, explode, plaudit see Word History at explode
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