credulous

adjective

Definition of credulousnext
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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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of credulous If enough of these clips rack up enough views fast enough, credulous social-media algorithms interpret the spike as an authentic surge of interest and push the videos to real users, who sometimes generate real engagement, prompting the algorithm to push those videos even further. — Lane Brown, Vulture, 15 May 2026 In 1972, Joyce Carol Oates wrote a letter to the New York Times Book Review questioning a credulous review of Castaneda’s books. — Los Angeles Times, 23 June 2026 Room for Disagreement My colleague (OK, editor) Laura McGann notes that US coverage of the Iran war has been less credulous of the official government line. — Ben Smith, semafor.com, 15 June 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 See All Example Sentences for credulous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for credulous
  1. naive
  2. gullible
  3. innocent
  4. immature
Adjective
  • The cyclical reality awaiting ‘naive capital’ Allianz is far from the only insurer to have prospered through recent upheavals.
    — Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, semafor.com, 3 July 2026
  • But performing fealty to that naïve and impoverished picture of judging had become nearly de rigueur for both liberals and conservatives.
    — Jeannie Suk Gersen, New Yorker, 2 July 2026
Definition of naive
Adjective
  • Colocousis said people who think scam victims like him are gullible idiots don’t understand the sophistication of criminal organizations behind online fraud.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 30 June 2026
  • 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.
    — Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 26 June 2026
Definition of gullible
Adjective
  • All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
    — Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 1 July 2026
  • That law predates the much wider United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which took effect in 1994, giving ships the right of innocent passage through any country's territorial waters without paying a fee.
    — Joanne Stocker, CBS News, 1 July 2026
Definition of innocent
Adjective
  • In practice, portions of the automation framework still feel slightly immature.
    — Michael Lydick, PC Magazine, 29 June 2026
  • These are the immature stages of small brown moths.
    — Tom MacCubbin, The Orlando Sentinel, 27 June 2026
Definition of immature

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Cite this Entry

“Credulous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/credulous. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on credulous

Nglish: Translation of credulous for Spanish Speakers

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