credence

View more Technology videos

1. In general use, credence means 'belief, trustful acceptance', and is used mainly in the expression to give (or lend) credence to, which means 'believe, trust':

The radicality of these changes...had lent credence to the set of beliefs described above—Dædalus, 1979.

2. The phrase to give credit to once meant much the same as to give credence to, i.e. 'to believe', but in current use it is more likely to be used in the form to give a person credit (for something), meaning to ascribe some good quality to them: (also used with a layer of irony): /

You chaps do tend to give the rest of us credit for perceptions about your work that we don't...always have—John Wain, 1953

They search for ages for the wrong word which, to give them credit, they eventually find—East Anglian, 1993.

4. Credibility shares some of the meaning of both credence and credit in that belief lies at the heart of its meaning, but it is used rather to mean 'the condition of being credible or believable':

The empirical basis of theory is fundamental to its reliability and its validity and, in the end, its credibility—P. H. Mann, 1985.

This meaning, now largely confined to special domains such as religion and philosophy, has been overshadowed by an extended meaning 'reputation, status':

It was clear to the [American] President that his credibility was on the line with the leaders in Hanoi—Guardian, 1970

By then, however, the fatal damage to the Prime Minister's credibility will have been done—Today, 1992.

Such credibility is regularly enhanced, established, gained, lost, maintained, and so on.

The overlap between the older and the newer meaning can be seen in uses such as the following:

A major French archaeological discovery that was declared fraudulent by many prehistorians in the 1920's has now regained credibility as a result of dating studies conducted at three independent laboratories—Scientific American, 1975.

4. Two special uses of credibility that have arisen recently are credibility gap, meaning 'an apparent difference between what is said and what is true'

(Official American statements are no longer taken on trust.... The phenomenon...is called the 'credibility gap'—Guardian, 1966)

and, chiefly in British English, street credibility (often reduced informally to street cred), meaning 'acceptability among fashionable young urban people'

(Motor enthusiast David George has seen his Ford Granada gain street credibility with its very own TV career—Bolton Evening News, 2005).

Previous:	crayfish, crash, crape, crêpe
Next:	credible, creditable, credulous, creole, crescendo

noun

Mental acceptance of the truth or actuality of something: belief, credit, faith. See opinion.

n

Definition: trust, acceptance
Antonyms: distrust, faithlessness

A small stand or shelf near an altar to hold the elements of the Eucharist: church vessels, service books, etc.

credence

---

IN BRIEF: Belief.

I put great credence in the idea of helping others to help themselves.

LearnThatWord.com is a free vocabulary and spelling program where you only pay for results!

For a list of words related to credence, see:

• Tables and Desks - credence: small sideboard or table for valuables, esp. bread and wine used in Eucharist; credenza
• Approval, Respect, and Recognition - credence: mental acceptance as true

---

See words rhyming with "credence."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Credence.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - tro, tiltro

Nederlands (Dutch)
geloof, credenstafel

Français (French)
n. - crédit (sout), (Pol, Admin) (lettres) de créance

Deutsch (German)
n. - Glaube

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - αποδοχή της αληθείας (κάποιου ισχυρισμού, μαρτυρίας κ.λπ.), πίστη, εμπιστοσύνη

Italiano (Italian)
credenza

Português (Portuguese)
n. - crédito (m), credencial (f), crença (f)

Русский (Russian)
доверие

Español (Spanish)
n. - creencia, crédito

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - tilltro, trovärdighet

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
信用, 供桌, 祭器台

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 信用, 供桌, 祭器台

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 신용, (카톨릭) 제구대

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 信用

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) تصديق, أيمان ب‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮אמון, שולחן או מדף ללחם-הקודש בכנסיה‬

If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.