plausibility

noun

Etymology: Etymology tree New Latin plausibilitāsbor. English plausibility Borrowed from New Latin plausibilitās.

1. The quality of deserving applause, praiseworthiness; something worthy of praise.

   “integrity, fidelity, and other gracious plausibilities”

2. The appearance of truth, especially when deceptive; speciousness.

   “Plausibility, I know, can only be unmasked by shewing the absurdities it glosses over, and the simple truths it involves with specious errors.”

3. A plausible statement, argument etc.

   “She too must shimmer through the gloom o' the grave, / Come and confront me— […] / Striking me dumb, and helping her to speak, / Tell her own story her own way, and turn / My plausibility to nothingness!”

4. The fact of being believable; believability, credibility.

   “The question of the plausibility of the counter-factual is seen as key in all three discussions of allohistorical fiction (as it is in Demandt's and Ferguson's examinations of allohistory) (cf. Rodiek 25–26; Ritter 15–16; Helbig 32).”