credulous
USKREJ-uh-luhs/ˈkɹɛd͡ʒələs/
Often confused with credible
- 1Too willing to believe what one is told, and so easily fooled or taken in.
A credulous public bought thousands of bottles of the so-called miracle tonic.
He listened with wide, credulous eyes as his cousin described the ghost in the attic.
Similargullible, naive, unworldly, green, wide-eyed
Oppositeskeptical, incredulous, suspicious, wary
- 2Of a story, claim, or report: believed too readily, with too little doubt.
The magazine ran yet another credulous story about a diet that melts fat overnight.
Historians now set aside the credulous accounts of sea serpents found in old ships' logs.
Similaruncritical
Practice
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Origin
First recorded in 1576, borrowed from Latin crēdulus ("that easily believes a thing, credulous"), from crēdō ("to believe").