cred ‧ i ‧ bil ‧ i ‧ ty /ˌkredəˈbɪləti, ˌkredɪˈbɪləti/ BrE AmE noun [uncountable]
[ Word Family: adverb : ↑ incredibly , ↑ credibly , ↑ incredulously ; adjective : ↑ incredible , ↑ credible , ↑ incredulous ; noun : ↑ credibility , ↑ incredulity ]
1 . the quality of deserving to be believed and trusted
damage/undermine sb’s credibility (as something)
The scandal has damaged his credibility as a leader.
credibility of
There are serious questions about the credibility of these reports.
gain/lose credibility
Predictions of economic recovery have now lost all credibility.
2 . credibility gap the difference between what someone says and what they do:
a credibility gap between the government’s promises and their achievements
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ have some/no/little credibility
By then the president had ceased to have any credibility.
▪ give somebody/something credibility
There's enough evidence to give credibility to this theory.
▪ undermine/damage credibility
A number of factors undermine the credibility of these statistics.
▪ destroy credibility
The scandal nearly destroyed the FBI's credibility.
▪ establish your credibility
Dave had already established his credibility with the department managers.
▪ lend credibility to somebody/something (=make something or someone have more credibility)
The evidence lent credibility to their arguments.
▪ gain credibility
It took many years for these ideas to gain credibility in the science community.
▪ lose credibility
Both of our major political parties are losing credibility.
▪ lack/be lacking in credibility
The new regime lacked credibility from the start.
▪ restore credibility (=get it back again after it has been damaged)
His priority was to restore credibility to his government.
■ adjectives
▪ political/scientific/academic etc credibility
A school's academic credibility often depends on its exam results.
▪ low credibility (=little credibility)
The organization has had low credibility among teachers.
▪ great credibility (=a lot of credibility)
He has great credibility in Washington.
■ phrases
▪ a blow to somebody/something's credibilty (=something that damages credibility)
The case was a severe blow to the administration's credibility.