gullible, a.
(ˈgʌlɪb(ə)l)
[f. gull v.3 + -ible; historically it seems to have been a back-formation from prec. Cf. gullable.]
Capable of being gulled or duped; easily cheated, befooled. Also absol.
| 1825 Carlyle Schiller ii. 104 The king of quacks, the renowned Cagliostro,..harrowing up the souls of the curious and gullible of all ranks..by various thaumaturgic feats. 1831 ― Sart. Res. (1858) 68 Gullible, however, by fit apparatus, all Publics are; and gulled, with the most surprising profit. 1860 Gen. P. Thompson Audi Alt. III. cxli. 121 Another fallacy..by which the gullible among the English are to be kept in awe. 1879 Geo. Eliot Theo. Such xvii. 305 The very fishes of our rivers, gullible as they look. |
Hence ˈgullibly adv.
| 1877 Tinsley's Mag. XXXI. 657 Mrs. Tittle was gullibly open to flattery. |