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

What’s alarming about the credulous coverage that Colossal receives from the press is that it points to a decline in responsible reporting on science.

From Los Angeles Times • May 21, 2026

The three‑act farce tells the story of a credulous father whose obsession with astrology leads him to force his young daughter to marry an old wigmaker.

From Barron's • May 4, 2026

After a round of credulous reporting, we finally got the debunkings that far fewer people will read: This wasn’t a real delivery.

From Salon • Apr. 17, 2026

It goes to show there’s no limit to how credulous some people choose to be when given an opportunity to think something negative about Israel or Jews.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 5, 2025

Rather he meant that, whatever their intentions, the new sciences had undermined credulous belief.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton