adv ·3 syllables ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adverb

1. 1
   In a plausible manner.

   "She lied plausibly, but the police suspected her anyway."

2. 2
   Probably; not falsifiably, based on available facts and general knowledge. modal

   "Plausibly, she said she'd been working at the time."

Adverb

1. 1
   easy to believe on the basis of available evidence wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

allegedlyapparentlybelievablybelievablycrediblycredibly

Antonyms

All antonyms

implausiblyincrediblyunbelievably

Example

More examples

"It cannot plausibly be argued that behaviour of such complexity derives entirely from instinct."

Etymology

From plausible + -ly.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.