credulity

/krəˈdulədi/

Other forms: credulities

Did you know that if you say credulity ten times fast it starts to sound like orange? If you believe that, then you have a lot of credulity. Credulity means gullibility, or a willingness to believe anything.

Credulity is a tendency to believe in things too easily and without evidence. If a swindler is trying to sell you fake medicine, then he is "preying on your credulity." This noun is associated with being naïve, gullible or innocent. It shouldn’t be confused with credibility, which means “believability,” although it is often misused in this way. You might hear someone say, “the farfetched plot of that movie strained credulity,” but what he or she really means is “believability,” or “credibility.”

Definitions of credulity

1. noun

   tendency to believe readily
   types:

   overcredulity

   too much credulity

   type of:

   trust, trustfulness, trustingness

   the trait of believing in the honesty and reliability of others