credence

American  

[kreed-ns] / ˈkrid ns /

noun

1. belief as to the truth of something.

   to give credence to a claim.

   Synonyms:

   confidence, faith, credit

2. something giving a claim to belief or confidence.

   letter of credence.

3. Also called credenza.  Also called credence table,.  Ecclesiastical. a small side table, shelf, or niche for holding articles used in the Eucharist service.

4. Furniture. credenza.

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credence British  

/ ˈkriːdəns /

noun

1. acceptance or belief, esp with regard to the truth of the evidence of others

   I cannot give credence to his account

2. something supporting a claim to belief; recommendation; credential (esp in the phrase letters of credence )

3. short for credence table

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Other Word Forms

• noncredence
  noun

Etymology

Origin of credence

1300–50; Middle English < Middle French credence < Medieval Latin crēdentia. See credent, -ence

Explanation

Credence means truthfulness, or believability. A video of a funnel cloud entering Central Park would give credence to rumors of a tornado in Manhattan. Generally, credence is given to an idea or topic by something else. You'll see it often coming after words like lend, give, and impart. When something is given credence, it is made more believable. But it can also be used like this: Mary talked a lot about the poltergeist in her house. To most, her story had little credence, but I like a good ghost story, and so, decided to believe.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

credence

"We are not giving research enough time to prove its worth," Rancillac emphasised, adding that" scientifically worthless" accounts of self-experimentation were being given too much credence.

From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026

While spice master is an unofficial term—much like “spice therapist,” another that people have given Lev Sercarz, who says it makes him wince—his two cookbooks give the monikers credence.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026

But on timing, the singer is a big fan of the 4 July holiday, giving further credence to the theory that she would choose the US holiday weekend as a possible date.

From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026

Erkılıç says she doesn’t give much credence to the AI versus humanity panic.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026

And can it now be said: we accord credence in this way because it has proved to pay?

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton