Credulity
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A willingness to believe in someone or something in the absence of reasonable proof; credulousness. countable, uncountable
"These testosterone thumpers have repackaged and exaggerated the study, with a credulity born of zealotry, into articles with shitposty titles like “Trust The Science: Study Links Left-Wing Politics to Lower Testosterone,” casting it as hard proof of their hormonal theories of healthy politics."
- 2 tendency to believe readily wordnet
- 3 Faith, credence; acceptance or maintenance of a belief. countable, nonstandard, uncountable
"Do you think Mr. Allworthy hath more contempt for money than other men because he professes more? Such credulity would better become one of us weak women, than that wise sex which heaven hath formed for politicians. Indeed, brother, you would make a fine plenipo to negotiate with the French."
Example
More examples"Con artists take advantage of the credulity of inexperienced investors and swindle them out of their money."
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English credulite (“faith, belief”), borrowed from Middle French credulité (French crédulité), from Latin crēdulitās. Corresponding to credulous + -ity (compare credulosity).
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.