DictionaryAI

gullible

SayGUL-i-buhl/ˈɡʌlɪbl̩/

2 meanings of gullible

Practice

  1. 1
    adjective
    So naive that one is easily deceived, fooled, or cheated.

    Scammers target gullible investors with promises of quick, guaranteed profits.

    I was gullible enough to believe the email really came from my bank.

    UsageOften gullible enough to believe something.

    Similarnaive, green

    Oppositeskeptical, wary, shrewd

Less common meaning

  1. 2
    noun
    A person who is easily fooled or tricked.
    Spurious accounts that snare the gullible are readily available. Skeptical treatments are much harder to find.
    1995, Carl Sagan, “The Most Precious Thing”

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Origin

Its origin is uncertain. One idea is gull ("to dupe, trick, fool") plus -ible. Another links it to Middle English gole (also goll, gol), which meant "an unfledged bird, silly fellow" and is perhaps from Old Norse gulr ("yellow, pale"), after the color of a young bird's down.