gullible
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of gullible
Explanation
If you are gullible, the joke is on you because you are easily fooled. It is thought that gullible might be derived from the verb gull, meaning "to swallow." This would be a funny coincidence as gullible describes an overly trusting person who tends to swallow the stories he hears whole. The related word, gull, can be used as a noun "don't be such a gull!" or as a verb "you can't gull me into believing that!"
Vocabulary lists containing gullible
Tricky Terms for April Fool's Day
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Walk Two Moons
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "G"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Gullible and “naturally athletic” Kyle, the pair’s better half, bears the hurt of the inexcusable disloyalty and brokenheartedly tries to move on.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 11, 2020
Gullible valedictorians apply only to be rejected because Chicago knows they won’t attend a safety school either way.
From New York Times • May 18, 2012
Gullible Verna, who’d believed she was in love.
From The New Yorker • Dec. 12, 2011
Gullible investors then buy the stock, creating demand and driving up the price.
From Washington Post • Jun. 13, 2010
Mr. Ernest Hart had an article in the Century Magazine on "The Eternal Gullible," in which he gives the confessions of a professional hypnotic subject.
From Complete Hypnotism, Mesmerism, Mind-Reading and Spiritualism How to Hypnotize: Being an Exhaustive and Practical System of Method, Application, and Use by Alpheus, A.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
