gullibility
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun: - A tendency to believe too readily and therefore to be easily deceived: Gullibility is the quality of being too willing to believe what someone says, often resulting in being tricked or cheated. It implies a lack of critical judgment or skepticism.
Usage
Gullibility is used to describe a person's character trait or a specific instance of being easily fooled. It is often discussed in contexts involving scams, tricks, or manipulation. - His gullibility made him an easy target for the con artist's scheme. - The email scam relied on the gullibility of its recipients.
Examples
- Noun:
- The salesman exploited her gullibility to sell her an overpriced warranty.
- Widespread gullibility allowed the false rumor to spread quickly online.
Advanced Usage
- "To prey on someone's gullibility": To take advantage of a person's tendency to believe things easily.
- Fraudulent charities often prey on the gullibility of kind-hearted people.
Variants and Related Words
- Gullible (adj): Easily persuaded to believe something; credulous.
- He was too gullible to question the offer that seemed too good to be true.
Synonyms
- Credulity: A willingness to believe something on little evidence.
- Naivety: Lack of experience, wisdom, or judgment, often leading to being easily deceived.
- Trustfulness: Inclination to trust people readily.
Antonyms
- Skepticism: An attitude of doubt or a disposition to question accepted opinions.
- Suspicion: A feeling or thought that something is possible, likely, or true, especially something bad.
- Wariness: Caution about possible dangers or problems.
Related Idioms and Phrases
- To be born yesterday: To be very naive or gullible (used in negative constructions to assert one is not gullible).
- I didn't just fall off the turnip truck; you can't fool me so easily. (This is a related colloquial expression implying one is not gullible.)
Noun
- tendency to believe too readily and therefore to be easily deceived