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incredibly

incredibly

172 2.8
In a way that is very surprising and hard to believe
  • adverb
  • /ɪnˈkrɛdəbli/
translation icon : increíblemente
  • So that was an incredibly fun few days.
  • incredibly difficult
  • incredibly complex
  • incredibly long

By all rights, that should have just been an incredibly sad interview.

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Examples

  • Thank you all so much for these incredibly moving remarks.

  • Most of these abandoned pets did not survive, but incredibly, the dogs did.

  • And that to me is incredibly exciting.

  • And to me, that was incredibly moving in a way.

  • By all rights, that should have just been an incredibly sad interview.

  • And that makes me so incredibly happy because I want them.

  • But this is an incredibly exciting era of research.

  • In my view, this is incredibly important for the whole financing process for innovative companies.

    Academic text (1995)
  • Before Alden could turn, he felt an incredibly strong hand grip his shoulder from behind.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • The view from the mountain was incredibly beautiful, leaving everyone speechless.

Synonyms

extremely
vsincredibly
1.0

To a very great degree

focuses more on being hard to believe and striking rather than raw intensity
greatly
vsincredibly
350 1.0

By a very large amount

is more focused on astonishment and disbelief than simple largeness
remarkably
vsincredibly
184 3.5

To a very unusual or surprising degree

leans toward being hard to believe rather than merely being notable
extraordinarily
vsincredibly
137 3.9

To a much higher level than usual

leans more toward being hard to believe and striking rather than mere degree
enormously
vsincredibly
128 3.5

To a very large degree

is about being hard to believe and amazing rather than measurable size
amazingly
vsincredibly
122 2.3

In a way that causes surprise or wonder

highlights difficulty to believe and extraordinary nature rather than only wonder
unbelievably
vsincredibly
107 3.7

In a way that is very surprising or seems impossible

is about being amazing or extraordinary without stressing disbelief
unusually
vsincredibly
106 3.3

More than normal or expected

focuses on being hard to believe and extraordinary rather than simply uncommon
hugely
vsincredibly
84 2.1

To a very great degree

puts emphasis on disbelief and striking impact rather than mere magnitude
exceptionally
vsincredibly
80 4.1

To a much higher level than usual

is more about being hard to believe and striking rather than unusual degree
miraculously
vsincredibly
62 5.9

In a very surprising way that seems impossible

is about being hard to believe without implying supernatural causes
exceedingly
vsincredibly
57 4.6

To a very great degree

leans more on disbelief and surprise than purely high degree emphasis
insanely
vsincredibly
50 3.9

To a very great degree

focuses on astonishment and disbelief rather than mere excessiveness or madness
spectacularly
vsincredibly
28 4.3

To do something in a very impressive or dramatic way

emphasizes disbelief and astonishment rather than theatrical showiness
fantastically
vsincredibly
21 3.5

To a very great degree

highlights disbelief and amazement rather than merely high quality
astonishingly
vsincredibly
21 4.0

In a way that makes people very surprised

leans more toward being hard to believe than simple wonder
phenomenally
vsincredibly
17 5.2

To a very great degree

focuses more on disbelief and surprise than general exceptionality
fabulously
vsincredibly
15 4.3

In a very impressive and successful way

is about being hard to believe rather than only success or delight
freakishly
vsincredibly
14 7.7

In a very unusual and surprising way

is about being astonishing or hard to believe rather than abnormality
terrifically
vsincredibly
12 3.6

To a very high degree

focuses more on astonishment and disbelief than general excellence
uncommonly
vsincredibly
10 5.3

To a much higher level than usual

places more weight on disbelief and amazement than mere exceptionality
startlingly
vsincredibly
8 5.6

In a way that makes people feel very surprised

focuses on amazement that is hard to believe rather than suddenness
breathtakingly
vsincredibly
8 4.2

In a very beautiful or amazing way

is about being hard to believe rather than only visual beauty
staggeringly
vsincredibly
7 6.7

To a very surprising degree that is hard to believe

is more general amazement rather than stressing disbelief
astoundingly
vsincredibly
6 4.3

Making people feel very surprised

stresses difficulty to believe rather than only creating surprise
improbably
vsincredibly
6 6.4

In a way that seems very unlikely to happen or hard to believe

focuses on strong surprise and extraordinariness rather than probability
indescribably
vsincredibly
4 6.5

In a way that is so strong it is hard to put into words

stresses being hard to believe and striking rather than inexpressibility
awesomely
vsincredibly
3 4.7

In a very impressive way that makes people admire it

is more about being hard to believe than only praising impressiveness
stupendously
vsincredibly
2 6.1

In a very impressive way that surprises people

is more about being hard to believe than sheer size or impressiveness
prodigiously
vsincredibly
2 7.7

In a very large and impressive way

is more about astonishing disbelief than mere physical largeness
inconceivably
vsincredibly
2 7.7

In a way that is very hard to imagine

is about being surprising or extraordinary rather than unimaginable
blowingly
vsincredibly
  • Archaic
2 9.2

In a way that makes people very surprised or impressed

focuses on disbelief and striking impact rather than sheer overwhelming force
wondrously
vsincredibly
2 6.7

In a way that makes people feel great surprise and admiration

leans more toward being hard to believe than only inspiring wonder
unfathomably
vsincredibly
1 8.2

In a way that is so great it cannot be understood or believed

is about strong surprise and being unusually hard to grasp
implausibly
vsincredibly
1 7.5

In a way that is hard to believe

is about strong amazement rather than judging reasonableness
surpassingly
vsincredibly
1 8.4

To a very high degree

leans more toward being hard to believe than general exceptionality
ineffably
vsincredibly
  • Formal
1 9.8

So great that you cannot find words to describe it

is about being hard to believe rather than inability to describe it
whoppingly
vsincredibly
  • Informal
7.8

To a very large degree

focuses on being hard to believe rather than exaggeration for effect
freakily
vsincredibly
6.3

In a very strange way that feels surprising

highlights disbelief and striking quality rather than mere strangeness

Antonyms

11 4.4

In a believable way that makes people think it is true

2 3.2

In a way that seems real or true

How Extraordinary

unbelievably
107 3.7
incredibly
172 2.8
amazingly
122 2.3
remarkably
184 3.5
surprisingly
272 2.5
normally
884 1.0

Surface Forms

incredibly positive
incredibler comparative
incrediblest superlative

Morphology

incredibly = incredible (semi-transparent) = in + credible + ly

The form is transparently built as 'incredible' + '-ly', but the adjective's shift from 'not believable' to an intensifying meaning makes inference of the adverbial sense only partially straightforward for learners.

Etymology

Incredibly comes from the parts in- 'not' and cred 'to believe', the same root you see in credible and credit. So it originally meant 'not believable', which is why we use it for something so surprising that it is hard to believe.