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, 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

Lee also noted that the company’s recent consumer-facing events — such as AIPCon 11, the company’s AI conference earlier this month — have given further credence to management’s messaging around AI.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026

This week, faculty wrote that his words lent credence to false accusations against the symposium and wrongly suggested that the lawyer or the organizers supported her client’s alleged crimes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

Officials have to deal with baseless allegations of corruption and favouritism as it is, so giving any kind of credence to a lack of professionalism by a referee is a problem.

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 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

I could not give this woman credence because I, of all people, knew how crippling her psychological injuries were.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover