Belief and truth have their own roots. cred means “believe”: a story that is incredible is hard to believe, and your credit is how far people believe you will pay. fid means “trust” or “faith”: to confide is to trust someone with a secret. ver means “true” (very once meant “truly”). sci means “know”: science is knowledge.
Key idea
cred = believe. fid = trust, faith. ver = true. sci = know.
Watch the endings, because they change the meaning a lot. credible (-ible, able to be) means believable. credulous (-ulous, inclined to) means too ready to believe. incredulous means not believing. credence (-ence, a noun) is belief itself.
The parts and their words
Words taken apart
| Word and meaning | Parts, and what they say |
|---|---|
| credible believable; worthy of trust | cred believe + -ible able to be → “able to be believed” |
| credulous too ready to believe things; easily fooled | cred believe + -ulous inclined to → “inclined to believe” |
| incredulous unwilling or unable to believe something | in- not + cred believe + -ulous inclined to → “not inclined to believe” |
| fidelity faithfulness and loyalty; also, accuracy | fid faith + -elity → “faithfulness” |
| confidant a trusted friend you can share secrets with | con- thoroughly + fid trust + -ant → “one you trust fully” |
| diffident shy and lacking confidence in oneself | dif- not + fid trust + -ent → “not trusting (oneself)” |
| veracity truthfulness; accuracy | ver true + -acity → “truthfulness” |
| verify to check that something is true | ver true + -ify to make → “to show to be true” |
| omniscient knowing everything | omni- all + sci know + -ent → “all-knowing” |
Worked example: Two near opposites
Zoe believed every rumor she heard, but her brother Kai doubted everything. Which one is credulous and which is incredulous?
- Both words have cred (believe) and -ulous (inclined to).
- credulous: inclined to believe, too ready to believe things.
- incredulous: in- (not) + inclined to believe, unwilling to believe.
Answer: Zoe is credulous; Kai is incredulous.
Meet the words
Common mistake
Missing a root when it shrinks or hides. fid shrinks inside diffident (dif- + fid: not trusting oneself), and ver hides in verdict (a true saying). And keep credulous (too ready to believe) and incredulous (unwilling to believe) apart: they are near opposites.