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A recent commenter on our Web site asked, "Is gullibility a word"? Yes, it's entered as a run-on at our entry for "gullible," along with "gullibly." All three of these words descend from the verb gull, meaning "to deceive or take advantage of." The verb "gull" was borrowed into English from Anglo-French in the mid-16th century. Another relative is the noun "gull," referring to a person who is easy to cheat - no relation to the familiar word for a sea bird, which is of Celtic origin.

Examples of gullible in a Sentence

I'm not gullible enough to believe something that outrageous. They sell overpriced souvenirs to gullible tourists.

Recent Examples on the Web First, drug companies, led by Purdue Pharma, maker of the notorious OxyContin, convinced gullible doctors to prescribe unneeded opioids. — Maia Szalavitz, Scientific American, 28 May 2021 So far, their entire portrayal of this White House has failed to persuade anyone but the dishonest and the gullible. — Steve Chapman Chicago Tribune, Star Tribune, 6 May 2021 On Twitter, on cable news, in Cosmopolitan, and beyond, Jones knows exactly which buttons to push in order to rally the gullible and get out her message. — Charles C. W. Cooke, National Review, 13 May 2021 So far, their entire portrayal of this White House has failed to persuade anyone but the dishonest and the gullible. — Steve Chapman Chicago Tribune, Star Tribune, 6 May 2021 So far, their entire portrayal of this White House has failed to persuade anyone but the dishonest and the gullible. — Steve Chapman, chicagotribune.com, 5 May 2021 To me, the women who pursue a chronic Lyme diagnosis are not stupid or crazy or gullible. — Kate Fridkis, SELF, 14 Apr. 2021 The Cheek defense, which ended up not being any help to Mr. Cheek, protects the gullible. — Peter J Reilly, Forbes, 5 Apr. 2021 Not gullible, lost, or nihilists, my parents knew better than to share the acid with the children. — Rachel Kushner, Vogue, 16 Mar. 2021

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'gullible.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.