credulous

adjective

cred·​u·​lous ˈkre-jə-ləs 

1

: ready to believe especially on slight or uncertain evidence

accused of swindling credulous investors

Few people are credulous enough to believe such nonsense.

2

: proceeding from credulity

credulous superstitions

credulously adverb

credulousness noun

Did you know?

The cred in credulous is from Latin credere, meaning “to believe” or “to trust.” Credulous describes people who would be wise to be a bit more skeptical, or things that ought to be approached with some skepticism. The word has a useful opposite in the term incredulous, which often describes something that shows or suggests one’s lack of belief (“listening with an incredulous smile”), or someone who cannot or will not believe something, as in “an outrageous statement that left them incredulous.” (You’ll do well not to confuse incredulous with incredible.)

Examples of credulous in a Sentence

Few people are credulous enough to believe such nonsense.

Recent Examples on the Web

The video, though, showed what purported to be photographs of a purchase contract and of the villa itself, creating a veneer of authenticity for credulous viewers. —Steven Lee Myers, New York Times, 18 Mar. 2024

Once the tap shoes come out, even the most credulous viewer has to catch on. —Alexis Soloski, New York Times, 12 Jan. 2024

The credulous Times falling into the right-wing’s projection. —Oliver Darcy, CNN, 5 Mar. 2024

At least with Flamin’ Hot scoring an Original Song nod, Nyad was not the only credulous biopic of a figure who might have stretched the truth. —Vulture, 23 Jan. 2024

The credulous press dutifully runs with those figures, or relies on international organizations that operate in Gaza under Hamas’s editorial control to validate the terrorist group’s claims. —The Editors, National Review, 3 Nov. 2023

Deepfake catastrophizing depends on supposing that people—always other people—are dangerously credulous, prone to falling for any evidence that looks sufficiently real. —Daniel Immerwahr, The New Yorker, 13 Nov. 2023

This is an immensely important article which should be required reading for the credulous mainstream media. —Erielle Davidson, National Review, 27 Oct. 2023

That’s how Weir and Niccol reward the stupidity of credulous viewers. —Armond White, National Review, 2 Aug. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Latin credulus, from credere to believe, entrust — more at creed

First Known Use

1553, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

credulous

adjective

cred·​u·​lous ˈkrej-ə-ləs 

: ready to believe especially on little evidence

credulously adverb

credulousness noun