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Gullible

Easily fooled or duped; credulous; quick to believe something without sufficient evidence.

adjective

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Imagine This

Imagine a tourist at a busy seaside fair who is approached by a slick street vendor promising a ‘guaranteed fortune map.’ The tourist eagerly hands over money, believing every claim, only to discover later that the map is worthless.

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Sounds Like

GULL-ih-buhl

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Looks Like

Looks like gull + ible, hinting at being able to be gulled

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Remember This

Root 'gull' means to fool; gullible literally means 'able to be gulled.' It describes susceptibility to deception, not intelligence.

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Other Forms

gullibilitynoun

gulliblyadverb

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Connect With

gull (to deceive); credulity; naive; skeptical; deception; duped; easily fooled

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Note

Use with care; it can be insulting if aimed at someone. Distinguish gullible from naive by considering susceptibility to deception in a given situation, not overall intelligence.

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Study Deeper

Examples

She was so gullible that she believed the spam email promising a million-dollar prize.
Advertisers often rely on gullible consumers who accept claims without due diligence.

Synonyms

credulousnaivetrustingunsuspecting

Antonyms

skepticaldiscerningwary

Etymology

From gull (to deceive) + the suffix -ible (able to be). The noun gull denotes a person who is easily deceived; the adjective gullible emerged in English in the 18th–19th centuries.

Mnemonic

GULL-ible = able to be gulled. Picture a gull (the bird) being coaxed by shiny bait; if you’re gullible, you’re easily taken in, just like that gull.