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credulous

[krej-uh-luhs]
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adjective
  1. willing to believe or trust too readily, especially without proper or adequate evidence; gullible.
  2. marked by or arising from credulity: a credulous rumor.
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Origin of credulous

1570–80; < Latin crēdulus, equivalent to crēd(ere) to believe + -ulus adj. suffix denoting a quality or tendency; see -ous
Related formscred·u·lous·ly, adverbcred·u·lous·ness, nounnon·cred·u·lous, adjectivenon·cred·u·lous·ly, adverbnon·cred·u·lous·ness, nouno·ver·cred·u·lous, adjectiveo·ver·cred·u·lous·ly, adverbo·ver·cred·u·lous·ness, nounun·cred·u·lous, adjectiveun·cred·u·lous·ly, adverbun·cred·u·lous·ness, noun
Can be confusedcredible credulous

Synonyms for credulous

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1. believing, trustful, unsuspecting.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for credulousness

simplicity, frankness, unfamiliarity, virtue, plainness, lack, freshness, ignorance, inexperience, nescience, purity, sincerity, unawareness, candidness, credulousness, gullibility, ingenuousness, innocuousness, guilelessness, greenness

Examples from the Web for credulousness

Contemporary Examples of credulousness

Historical Examples of credulousness

  • She herself meanwhile will seek to enter the kemenate and play upon her credulousness.

  • Antonia had the most trusting, responsive eyes in the world; love and credulousness seemed to look out of them with open faces.

    My Antonia

    Willa Cather

  • Both are personifications founded in the ignorance of the masses, and their continuance will cease with their credulousness.

  • What first suggested to Crandon his idea of the love-potion was the discovery of Sophie's credulousness.

    Beggars on Horseback

    F. Tennyson Jesse

British Dictionary definitions for credulousness

credulous

adjective
  1. tending to believe something on little evidence
  2. arising from or characterized by credulitycredulous beliefs
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Derived Formscredulously, adverbcredulousness, noun

Word Origin for credulous

C16: from Latin crēdulus, from crēdere to believe
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

Word Origin and History for credulousness

credulous

adj.

1570s, from Latin credulus "that easily believes, trustful," from credere "to believe" (see credo). Related: Credulously; credulousness.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper