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The Word of the Day for August 07, 2008 is:

plausible • \PLAW-zuh-bul\

• adjective

1 : seemingly fair, reasonable, or valuable but often not so

2 : superficially pleasing or persuasive

*3 : appearing worthy of belief

Example Sentence:

Her excuses for missing work were plausible at first, but soon became ridiculous.

Did you know?

Today the word "plausible" usually means "reasonable" or "believable," but it once held the meanings "worthy of being applauded" and "approving." It comes to us from the Latin adjective "plausibilis" ("worthy of applause"), which in turn derives from the verb "plaudere," meaning "to applaud or clap." Other "plaudere" descendants in English include "applaud," "plaudit" (the earliest meaning of which was "a round of applause"), and "explode" (from Latin "explodere," meaning "to drive off the stage by clapping").

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.