hard to believe
Strains one's credulity
Hard to believe describes something that strains credibility or seems implausible: It's hard to believe he's already forty.
The phrase can express genuine skepticism or wonder at surprising facts.
Often used sarcastically to suggest something is obviously false: Hard to believe, I know, but he claims he didn't see the email.
- far-fetchedUnconvincingly unlikely or strained
- implausibleUnlikely to be true
- unlikelyNot apt to happen
- inconceivableBeyond mental grasp
- doubtfulUncertain of truth
improbable · questionable · too good to be true · fantastical · incredulous · preposterous · tall tale · unthinkable · dubious · cock-and-bull · yeah right · astonishing · myth · stranger than fiction · shocking · suspicious · miraculous · fishy
- disbeliefno way, incredulity, yeah right, doubt, you're kidding
- Unlikelyunlikely, improbable, doubtful, dubious, remote
- skepticismdoubt, skeptic, doubts, debunker, doubtful
hard to believebelievable
Able to convince
credible · plausible · convincing · trustworthy · persuasive
hard to believeself-evident
Requiring no demonstration
believable · credible · undeniable · beyond question · unquestionable
hard to believeunsurprising
Causing no astonishment
expected · predictable · par for the course · matter-of-fact · routine
hard, believe, hardly, harden, believing, unbelievable, believer, disbelief, hardness