Meanings
comparative more gullible · superlative most gullible
- Easily deceived or duped; naive, easily cheated or fooled.
Andrew is so gullible, the way he still believes in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, and the Sandman at the age of fourteen.
Synonyms: fleeceable, green, naif, naive, credulous, green, naive, fleeceable
plural gullibles
- A gullible person; someone easily fooled or tricked.
Spurious accounts that snare the gullible are readily available. Skeptical treatments are much harder to find.
1995, Carl Sagan, “The Most Precious Thing”, in The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark, 1st edition, New York: Random House, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 51 more example
They pictured to these gullibles the unearthly delights that were to be enjoyed as servants of the Spaniards. But such tricks could not last, for Cuba was too close to Saint Domingue, and news of the real conditions leaked across the windward passage and were bruited about.
1991, Guy Endore, Babouk: Voices of Resistance, page 70
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveEasily deceived or duped; naive, easily cheated or fooled.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivenaive and easily deceived or tricked
adjectiveeasily tricked because of being too trusting
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Old Norsegulr“yellow, pale”
- Middle Englishgole
- Englishgullible
Origin uncertain. Either from gull (“to dupe, trick, fool”) + -ible; or alternatively from Middle English gole, goll, gol (“an unfledged bird, silly fellow”), perhaps from Old Norse gulr (“yellow, pale”), from the hue of its down.
More words from Middle English, Old Norse
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic سَاذَج
- سَاذَج (sāḏaj)easily deceived or duped, naive
Bulgarian доверчи́в, наи́вен
- доверчи́в (doverčív)easily deceived or duped, naive
- наи́вен (naíven)easily deceived or duped, naive
- лекове́рен (lekovéren)easily deceived or duped, naive
Catalan ingenu, albat
- ingenueasily deceived or duped, naive
- albateasily deceived or duped, naive
- càndideasily deceived or duped, naive
Chinese Mandarin 容易輕信的 /容易轻信的, 輕信別人的 /轻信别人的
- 容易輕信的 /容易轻信的 (róngyì qīngxìn de)easily deceived or duped, naive
- 輕信別人的 /轻信别人的easily deceived or duped, naive
- 輕信別人的 /轻信别人的 (qīngxìn biérén de)easily deceived or duped, naive
Czech důvěřivý, naivní
- důvěřivýeasily deceived or duped, naive
- naivníeasily deceived or duped, naive
- lehkověrnýeasily deceived or duped, naive
Danish godtroende, enfoldig
- godtroendeeasily deceived or duped, naive
- enfoldigeasily deceived or duped, naive
- naiveasily deceived or duped, naive
Dutch naïef, lichtgelovig
- naïefeasily deceived or duped, naive
- lichtgelovigeasily deceived or duped, naive
- goedgelovigeasily deceived or duped, naive
Esperanto kredema, naiva
- kredemaeasily deceived or duped, naive
- naivaeasily deceived or duped, naive
Finnish herkkäuskoinen, sinisilmäinen
- herkkäuskoineneasily deceived or duped, naive
- sinisilmäineneasily deceived or duped, naive
- hyväuskoineneasily deceived or duped, naive
French crédule, naïf
- créduleeasily deceived or duped, naive
- naïfeasily deceived or duped, naive
German einfältig, leichtgläubig
- einfältigeasily deceived or duped, naive
- leichtgläubigeasily deceived or duped, naive
- naiveasily deceived or duped, naive
- gutgläubigeasily deceived or duped, naive
Greek εύπιστος, αφελής
- εύπιστος (éfpistos)easily deceived or duped, naive
- αφελής (afelís)easily deceived or duped, naive
Hebrew פֶּתִי
- פֶּתִי (péti)easily deceived or duped, naive
Hungarian hiszékeny, naiv
- hiszékenyeasily deceived or duped, naive
- naiveasily deceived or duped, naive
- becsaphatóeasily deceived or duped, naive
- rászedhetőeasily deceived or duped, naive
- átejthetőeasily deceived or duped, naive
Icelandic trúgjarn, auðtrúa
- trúgjarneasily deceived or duped, naive
- auðtrúaeasily deceived or duped, naive
Italian credulone
- creduloneeasily deceived or duped, naive
Latin crēdulus
- crēduluseasily deceived or duped, naive
Malay lurus bendul, lurus macam bendul
- lurus benduleasily deceived or duped, naive
- lurus macam benduleasily deceived or duped, naive
Māori tūpatokore
- tūpatokoreeasily deceived or duped, naive
Norwegian Bokmål godtroende, lettlurt
- godtroendeeasily deceived or duped, naive
- lettlurteasily deceived or duped, naive
- naiveasily deceived or duped, naive
Polish naiwny, łatwowierny
- naiwnyeasily deceived or duped, naive
- łatwowiernyeasily deceived or duped, naive
Portuguese crédulo
- créduloeasily deceived or duped, naive
Romanian credul
- creduleasily deceived or duped, naive
Russian дове́рчивый, простоду́шный
- дове́рчивый (dovérčivyj)easily deceived or duped, naive
- простоду́шный (prostodúšnyj)easily deceived or duped, naive
- наи́вный (naívnyj)easily deceived or duped, naive
- легкове́рный (lexkovérnyj)easily deceived or duped, naive
Slovak dôverčivý, naivný
- dôverčivýeasily deceived or duped, naive
- naivnýeasily deceived or duped, naive
- ľahkovernýeasily deceived or duped, naive
Spanish crédulo, cándido
- créduloeasily deceived or duped, naive
- cándidoeasily deceived or duped, naive
- ingenuoeasily deceived or duped, naive
- engañadizoeasily deceived or duped, naive
- candelejóneasily deceived or duped, naive
- panolieasily deceived or duped, naive
- papanatasTranslations
Swedish lättlurad
- lättluradeasily deceived or duped, naive
Tagalog mapaniwalain
- mapaniwalaineasily deceived or duped, naive
Turkish saf, naif
- safeasily deceived or duped, naive
- naifeasily deceived or duped, naive
Ukrainian дові́рливий, легкові́рний
- дові́рливий (dovírlyvyj)easily deceived or duped, naive
- легкові́рний (lehkovírnyj)easily deceived or duped, naive
Vietnamese cả tin
- cả tineasily deceived or duped, naive
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
gullible. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gullible
“gullible.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gullible. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “gullible,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gullible.
Source: gullible on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.