- credulity
- (New American Roget's College Thesaurus)
Willingness to believeNouns1. credulity, credulousness, gullibility, ingenuousness, naiveté; self-delusion, self-deception; superstition; one's blind side; blind faith. See belief.2. superstition, old wives' tale, popular belief; urban myth.3. dupe, gull, April fool. Informal, sucker, fruit, pigeon, schlemiel, tool, woodcock, zib, jay, [Joe] Schmo, [easy] mark, sap, schnook, patsy, pushover.Verbs1. be credulous; fall for, take on trust or faith, take for granted, take for gospel; run away with a notion or idea, jump or rush to a conclusion; take the shadow for the substance; catch at straws; bite, take the bait, buy a pup, accept a wooden nickel. Informal, swallow [whole], gulp down, eat or lap up, swallow hook, line and sinker, go for, buy [into].2. be superstitious, take on faith; knock on wood, cross oneself, keep one's fingers crossed.3. (take advantage of one's credulity) impose upon, dupe, gull, delude, deceive (see deception).Slang, vic.Adjectives — credulous, gullible, ingenuous; easily deceived, unsuspecting, simple, green, soft, childish, silly, stupid; overcredulous, overconfident; superstitious.Quotations — They'll take a suggestion as a cat laps milk (Shakespeare), Superstition is the religion of feeble minds (Edmund Burke), There's a sucker born every minute (Joseph Bessimer).
English dictionary for students. 2013.