What does "incredible" mean?

1. (amazing or wonderful) extremely good, large, or great. 2. (hard to believe) difficult to believe because it seems impossible or very unlikely.

incredible

adj.

US //ˌɪnˈkɹɛdəbəɫ// UK //ɪnkɹˈɛdɪbəl// in·cred·i·ble

1 amazing or wonderful (adj.)
A2 Elementary

extremely good, large, or great.

extraordinary in degree or quality; used as a high-intensity positive evaluative adjective.

Example

The view from the top of the mountain was absolutely incredible.

Example

The young pianist gave an incredible performance, demonstrating a level of technical mastery that far exceeded her years.
- ordinary
- terrible
2 hard to believe (adj.)
B2 Upper Intermediate

difficult to believe because it seems impossible or very unlikely.

too implausible to be credible; challenging the observer's belief or expectations.

Example

It seemed incredible that he could survive such a long journey alone.

Example

The witness provided an incredible account of the events, which the jury found difficult to reconcile with the physical evidence presented by the prosecution.

Origin

From Middle English incredible, from Latin incrēdibilis (“that cannot be believed”), from in- (“not”) + crēdibilis (“worthy of belief”), from crēdō (“believe”), equivalent to in- + credible.