gullible
adjective
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.
Examples of gullible in a Sentence
Kirsty Hatcher, People.com, 3 Mar. 2025
Until, of course, someone convinces a gullible public—or a U.S. senator—that all research currency, new and old, is created equal.
—Adam Marcus, The Atlantic, 13 Feb. 2025
River, his most gullible and well-meaning employee, who has a long history of bungling even the simplest of tasks, is on a solo mission to France after faking a bathtub murder.
—Brian Grubb, Vulture, 11 Sep. 2024
Their nation now appeared vulnerable and gullible in the eyes of the world—and they’d been cheated out of $7,000.
—Peter Zablocki, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for gullible
Cite this Entry
“Gullible.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gullible. Accessed 9 Mar. 2025.
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