Is plausible positive or negative?

Question

When plausible means "appear to be correct" or "superficially pleasing", I want to know if it is positive or negative because this decides which of the following is correct.

Conclusions of the theory are plausible and inexact.
Conclusions of the theory are plausible but inexact.

MarielS · Accepted Answer

Sentence two would be the better option. You are using the word plausible to mean "likely correct", "probable", or "reasonable". That your conclusions have a good chance of being correct is a positive thing, whereas the fact they are "inexact" is negative. To paraphrase, you seem to be saying: "These conclusions seem reasonable and have a good chance of being correct, but we cannot be exact in proving/defining them."

Correct answer by MarielS on July 14, 2021

Is plausible positive or negative?

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