implausibility
Meaning
The quality of being difficult to believe; lack of credibility.
An argument, statement, or event that is difficult to believe.
Structure
Usage
The sheer implausibility of his alibi made the jury suspicious.
The film's plot was entertaining despite its many implausibilities.
Scientists highlighted the implausibility of achieving such results without rigorous testing.
Etymology
The word 'implausibility' is built upon the Latin verb 'plaudere', which meant "to strike, clap, or applaud." From this concrete action, the derived adjective 'plausibilis' came to mean "deserving applause, acceptable, or believable." The negative prefix 'im-' (a form of 'in-' before 'p') was attached to form 'implausibilis', meaning "not deserving approval or belief." The English noun 'implausibility' was formed by adding the abstract noun suffix '-ity' to this negative adjective, completing the journey from the physical act of clapping to the modern abstract concept of something being unconvincing or hard to accept as true.
Analysis
im: Latin prefix meaning "not" or "without". plaus: A direct substring from the Latin root 'plaudere' meaning "to applaud, to approve". ibility: A suffix of Latin origin ('-ibilitas') forming nouns expressing a quality or state, a variant of '-ability'.