implausible

Everyday

1. Hard to believe; not likely to be true. tree →
2. Not reasonable or realistic: an implausible plan. tree →

In the lessons

In English lessons pupils judge whether a story's events are plausible or implausible; in history and science they check whether a claim fits the evidence. In everyday life, an implausible excuse is one nobody believes. Phrases: an implausible excuse, an implausible story, it seems implausible that.

Examples

• «The dog ate my homework» is an implausible excuse. tree →
• It is implausible that a snail could win a race against a horse. tree →
• The film's ending was so implausible that we laughed. tree →
• The detective found the man's story implausible. tree →
• Your plan to dig to Australia is a bit implausible. tree →
• It seems implausible, but it's true: a bee can't see the colour red. tree →

Note

Opposite: «plausible» (believable). «Implausible» does not mean «impossible»: an implausible thing could happen but probably did not. In probability words: impossible < unlikely/implausible < possible < likely < certain.