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View synonyms for credibility gap

credibility gap

noun

  1. a lack of popular confidence in the truth of the claims or public statements made by the federal government, large corporations, politicians, etc.:

    a credibility gap between the public and the power company.

  2. a perceived discrepancy between statements and actual performance or behavior.


credibility gap

noun

  1. a disparity between claims or statements made and the evident facts of the situation or circumstances to which they relate
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Word History and Origins

Origin of credibility gap1

An Americanism dating back to 1965–70
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Idioms and Phrases

Distrust of a public statement or position, as in The current credibility gap at City Hall is the result of miscommunication between the mayor's office and the press . This term originated about 1960 in connection with the American public's disinclination to believe government statements about the Vietnam War. It soon was extended to individuals and corporations as well as government agencies to express a lack of confidence in the truth of their statements, or perception of a discrepancy between words and actions.
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Example Sentences

But the clock is ticking, and every day the credibility gap grows.

Call it the Obama discount or just a credibility gap, but words are cheap where this POTUS is concerned.

“They have a huge credibility gap with their own people as to the election process,” Clinton told reporters in Washington.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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