unbelievable

The word “unbelievable” means so surprising or extraordinary that it is hard to accept as true. In plain terms, either amazing beyond expectation, or simply not credible.

“Unbelievable” is pronounced uhn-bih-LEE-vuhbl (/ˌʌnbɪˈliːvəbl̩/ in IPA).

Here is “unbelievable” used in a sentence: “The comeback in the final minutes was simply unbelievable.”

“Unbelievable” is an adjective.

“Unbelievable” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B1 level.

“Unbelievable” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: so surprising or extraordinary that it is hard to accept as true.

It can be either — context decides. "Unbelievable" literally means so surprising or extraordinary that it is hard to accept as true, so it can express praise ("an unbelievable performance") or outrage ("unbelievable rudeness"), and it can also flag that a claim simply is not credible.

Both literally mean "hard to believe", but in everyday use "incredible" now leans strongly toward admiration, while "unbelievable" is used for both amazement and outrage. "Unbelievable" is also the more common choice when genuinely doubting a claim, as in "his excuse was unbelievable."

The correct spelling is "unbelievable", with no "e" before "-able". Like "believable", it drops the final silent "e" of "believe" when the suffix is added; "unbelieveable" is a common misspelling.

When you mean a claim is literally not credible, formal alternatives include "implausible" and "not credible", which sound more measured. The exclamatory use of "unbelievable!" is conversational, so formal prose usually explains precisely why something strains belief instead.