Word of the Day

: October 12, 2023

gullible

adjective GULL-uh-bul

What It Means

Someone described as gullible is easily fooled or cheated. In other words, they are quick to believe something that is not true.

// The store sells overpriced souvenirs to gullible tourists, and no self-respecting local would shop there.

See the entry >

gullible in Context

“It’s true that reality television has grown to look more and more like The Truman Show in the quarter-century following the film’s release, but even more unnerving, so have we as viewers. In 1998 the movie’s premise provoked dread. Now, though, we find easy humor and comfort in watching shows like it, in seeing a kind but gullible person bumble their way through a fake reality designed to strain credulity.” — Casey Epstein-Gross, Observer.com, 22 June 2023

Did You Know?

“Let a gull steal my fries once, shame on the gull; let a gull steal my fries twice, shame on me.” So goes the classic, oft-repeated seaside maxim reminding people to guard against being gullible. Okay, that’s not really how the old saw goes, but on the off chance that you believed our little trick, you yourself were, however briefly, gullible—that is, “easily duped.” The adjective gullible grew out of the older verb gull, meaning “to deceive or take advantage of.” (That gull originally meant “to guzzle or gulp greedily,” and comes from an even older gull meaning “throat, gullet.”) Another relative is the noun gull, referring to a person who is easy to cheat. However, no matter how much the seabirds we call gulls love to pilfer our potatoes, that avian gull has no relation, and is instead of Celtic origin—we promise.