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Showing results for gullible. Search instead for gullable.
Synonyms

gullible

American  
[guhl-uh-buhl] / ˈgʌl ə bəl /
Or gullable

adjective

  1. easily deceived or cheated.

    Synonyms:
    green, simple, innocent, naive, trusting, credulous
gullible British  
/ ˈɡʌləbəl /

adjective

  1. easily taken in or tricked

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • gullibility noun
  • gullibly adverb

Etymology

Origin of gullible

First recorded in 1815–25; gull 2 + -ible

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.

The fundamental problem is that hopeful investors are too often gullible investors.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 6, 2026

Our grandparents weren’t gullible; they encountered threats they didn’t recognize.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 3, 2026

Maybe I would have too — I’m really gullible.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 18, 2025

Ms Slinn added: "You just feel a bit stupid, don't you? You think 'how gullible can you be to give £5,000 to people you don't even know who they are?'."

From BBC • Apr. 3, 2025

A wizard — young, foolish, and gullible — wandered across my path in the forest I had made my home.

From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling

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.