Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

gullible

/ˈɡʌlɪbl̩/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.10 in modern English

Syllables: gullible
IPA: /ˈɡʌlɪbl̩/

11

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

3

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Easily deceived or duped; naive, easily cheated or fooled.

noun

A gullible person; someone easily fooled or tricked.

Example Sentences

"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."
"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."
"Spurious accounts that snare the gullible are readily available. Skeptical treatments are much harder to find."

Etymology

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.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: gole, gulr
Suffix: gull

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈɡʌlɪbl̩/
British English: /ˈɡʌlɪbl̩/

Inflected Forms

more gullible (comparative) most gullible (superlative) gullibles (plural)

Derived Forms

gullibility gullibleness gullibly nongullible

Synonyms

fleeceable green naif naive gullible credulous born yesterday fresh off the boat wide-eyed

Questions

How do you pronounce gullible?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈɡʌlɪbl̩/.
What does gullible mean?: Easily deceived or duped; naive, easily cheated or fooled.
Where does gullible come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce gullible

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “gullible”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈɡʌlɪbl̩/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “gullible”.
Repeat and practice — Say “gullible” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.