Arnold Bennett
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“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.
Synonyms of gullible
Examples of gullible in a Sentence
Linnea Wicklund, Chicago Tribune, 19 June 2026
The tactic saved the banking industry, but the great railway boom was over, and there was no reprieve for the gullible souls who had been drawn into it.
—John Cassidy, New Yorker, 15 June 2026
The assumption that manipulation happens to other people, the gullible ones, the people who fall for obvious scams, is the exact belief that keeps smart people exposed.
—Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 31 May 2026
Most people are still learning how to navigate a technological space that’s evolving faster than the American government will regulate it, and older folks aren’t uniquely gullible.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 31 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for gullible
Cite this Entry
“Gullible.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gullible. Accessed 25 Jun. 2026.
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