Meaning & use
credulous
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Meanings
adjectivecomparabledisapprovingformal
Too ready to believe what other people say, without asking for proof.
Grammar: Describes a person or their attitude; you can say 'a credulous reader' or 'he was credulous about the offer'.
Patterns
- credulous about something
- a credulous person
- too credulous to question something
The con man picked older, more credulous customers who trusted a smart suit.
She was credulous enough to send money to an email that promised a prize.
A good scientist is never credulous, however confident the speaker sounds.
adjectivebefore a nounformal
Showing a willingness to believe something that most people would doubt.
Grammar: Used mainly before a noun, as in 'a credulous smile' or 'credulous optimism'.
Patterns
- a credulous smile
- credulous optimism
- a credulous belief
He listened with a credulous smile as the salesman described the miracle diet.
Their credulous belief in the rumor spread through the whole office.
Word forms
| comparative | more credulous |
|---|---|
| superlative | most credulous |
Common combinations
- credulous investor
- The scheme was designed to trap credulous investors.
- credulous about something
- Young children can be credulous about what they see online.
- a credulous public
- The newspapers took advantage of a credulous public.
- credulous enough to believe
- Are you credulous enough to believe that story?
- far from credulous
- She is far from credulous when money is involved.
Synonyms and how they differ
- gullible
- Very close in meaning, but gullible is more common in everyday speech and often suggests being easily tricked.
- naive
- Focuses on lack of experience rather than a habit of believing everything; you can be naive about life without being credulous.
- trusting
- More neutral and often positive, meaning you expect people to be honest rather than that you believe anything.
Opposites
Word family
- credulity noun
- The quality of being too willing to believe things.
- credulously adverb
- In a way that shows too much willingness to believe.
- incredulous adjective
- Unwilling or unable to believe something; note the different meaning from credulous.
- credible adjective
- Able to be believed, used of statements, sources or people.
Commonly confused: credulous or credible? credulous or incredulous?
credulous vs credible
Credible means 'believable' and describes things like evidence, a story or a witness. Credulous describes a person who believes too easily.
credulous vs incredulous
Incredulous means 'not able to believe something' and often shows shock. It is almost the opposite of credulous, though both end in -ous.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'credulous' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Credulous' describes a person who believes too easily, so 'too credulous to check' fits. Options A, C and D describe things like stories, evidence and proof, where English uses 'credible' instead.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “credulous”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.