as in naive
too willing to believe things without substantial proof
Few people are credulous enough to believe such nonsense. a credulous audience
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Recent Examples of credulous
That act of imagination—that force of creative will, directed upon one’s own inner vision—is far more interesting to me than either a purely functionalist understanding of flight or a purely credulous one.
—
Chandler Fritz,
The New York Review of Books,
21 Mar. 2026
The dissenting conservatives—Justices Brett Kavanaugh, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel Alito—who were sympathetic to major questions in its prior applications are more credulous this time.
—
Idrees Kahloon,
The Atlantic,
20 Feb. 2026
But no one outside of the most credulous corners of the media are buying it.
—
James Folta,
Literary Hub,
29 Jan. 2026
The government’s offers of dialogue with the protesters ring hollow as it is meant as a pressure valve internationally—for credulous Westerners who believe Iran’s political system is capable of reform—and domestically.
—
Washington Post,
5 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for credulous
Chandler Fritz,
The New York Review of Books,
21 Mar. 2026
The dissenting conservatives—Justices Brett Kavanaugh, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel Alito—who were sympathetic to major questions in its prior applications are more credulous this time.
—
Idrees Kahloon,
The Atlantic,
20 Feb. 2026
But no one outside of the most credulous corners of the media are buying it.
—
James Folta,
Literary Hub,
29 Jan. 2026
The government’s offers of dialogue with the protesters ring hollow as it is meant as a pressure valve internationally—for credulous Westerners who believe Iran’s political system is capable of reform—and domestically.
—
Washington Post,
5 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for credulous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for credulous
Adjective
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In her own naive way, Miss Manners notices that your concern about gift cards requires a remarkable number of dollar signs to express.
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And radical hope — not naive optimism, but hope that lives in imagination.
Adjective
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However, several of the sequences, including the scenes between Imani and Layla, as well as the more violent and action-based ones, are so far removed from reality that even the most gullible viewers won’t take them seriously.
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The few adult characters in the film are gullible or bumbling.
Adjective
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But the document also made clear, as every criminal case must, that the charges were accusations and that the defendant was presumed innocent until proven guilty.
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Nearly two-dozen suspects are now off the streets after being charged with dozens of shootings involving innocent bystanders.
Adjective
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His position is assumed, in turn, by the largest of the immature fish, who, thanks to the tragedy, finally gets to grow up.
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Even Stevens was never afraid to go all out for its constant string of gags and jokes, led by Shia LaBeouf as the immature prankster Louis Stevens.
Cite this Entry
“Credulous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/credulous. Accessed 1 Jul. 2026.
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