credulous

American  

[krej-uh-luhs] / ˈkrɛdʒ ə ləs /

adjective

1. willing to believe or trust too readily, especially without proper or adequate evidence; gullible.

   Synonyms:

   unsuspecting, trustful

2. marked by or arising from credulity.

   a credulous rumor.

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credulous British  

/ ˈkrɛdjʊləs /

adjective

1. tending to believe something on little evidence

2. arising from or characterized by credulity

   credulous beliefs

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Other Word Forms

• credulously
  adverb
• credulousness
  noun
• noncredulous
  adjective
• noncredulously
  adverb
• noncredulousness
  noun
• overcredulous
  adjective
• overcredulously
  adverb
• overcredulousness
  noun
• uncredulous
  adjective
• uncredulously
  adverb
• uncredulousness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of credulous

First recorded in 1570–80; from Latin crēdulus, equivalent to crēdere “to believe” + -ulus adjective suffix denoting a quality or tendency; see -ous

Explanation

People who believe things easily without having to be convinced are credulous. Sales people are always hoping that someone credulous picks up the phone during a sales call. Credulous comes from the 16th-century Latin credulus, or "easily believes." A synonym for credulous is gullible, and both terms describe a person who accepts something willingly without a lot of supporting facts. Calling someone credulous can imply that the person is naive and simple. An individual isn't necessarily insulted by being called credulous, though, because some objects of belief, like religions and unicorns, come with a willing leap of faith for believing in what is unseen.

Example Sentences

Credulous media narratives about the “brilliance” of ChatGPT focus on these successes “without a serious look at the scope of the errors,” observe computer scientists Gary Marcus and Ernest Davis.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 23, 2023

Credulous economists demanded numbers, “however dubious their provenance”, and Maddison supplied them.

From Economist • Apr. 29, 2010

Credulous In West New York, N. J., one Paul Bethamen, weaver, husband, father, awoke in a room he had never seen before.

From Time Magazine Archive

Credulous persons who enjoy a faith in parental paradoxes were no doubt disconcerted last week when they discovered the result of researches into the heredity of students at Yale and Harvard.

From Time Magazine Archive

Credulous and vicious people are still abundant, and they are not confined to the crowd.

From The myth of the Jewish menace in world affairs or, The truth about the forged protocols of the elders of Zion by Wolf, Lucien