credible, credulous, or creditable?
These three adjectives, and the corresponding nouns credibility, credit, and credulity, are sometimes confused. A person or thing is credible when he, she, or it can be easily or readily believed: My story may sound barely credible but I assure you it's true.Credible also has the newer meaning "inspiring confidence": The government needs to develop a credible monetary policy. Somebody is credulous when he or she is all too ready to believe: Only the most credulous person would believe such a feeble excuse.Creditable is connected with the word credit and means "bringing credit": An excellent squash player, she plays a creditable game of tennis as well.
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