Gullible - plus, trending lookups galore!

[Merriam-Webster]( WORD OF THE DAY [April 17, 2019](#none) gullible [Audio pronunciation]( adjective | GULL-uh-bul Definition : easily duped or cheated Scroll down for more about gullible TRENDING NOW: [surveillance]( [cavalier]( [redact]( [redacted]( [SEE ALL [>]]( PEOPLE ARE READING # [On 'Great Britain' vs. 'United Kingdom' (and Other Names)]( # ['Wringer' or 'Ringer'?]( # [11 Authors on Their One-Word Book Titles]( # [Just What’s So Weird About That ‘Flex'?]( WORD GAMES AND QUIZZES: WEEKLY CHALLENGE [Name That Thing: Animal Edition]( How many animals can you identify? [PLAY NOW]( Nailed this quiz? We have plenty more to try! [TAKE ME THERE [>]]( Did You Know? Don't fall for anyone who tries to convince you that gullible isn't entered in the dictionary. It's right [there](, along with the run-on entries gullibility and gullibly. All three words descend from the verb [gull](, meaning "to deceive or take advantage of." The verb was borrowed into English from Anglo-French in the mid-16th century. Another relative is the noun [gull](, referring to a person who is easy to cheat—a word which is unrelated to the familiar [word]( for a seabird, which is of Celtic origin. Examples of GULLIBLE "I'm not so gullible as to think I really won this cash sweepstakes," said Aunt Mary, though she went ahead and opened the envelope that told her she had won, just in case it wasn't a scam. "The conclusion that some people are more gullible than others is the understanding in popular culture—but in the scientific world it's pitted against another widely believed [paradigm](, shaped by several counterintuitive studies that indicate we're all equally biased, irrational and likely to fall for propaganda, sales pitches and general nonsense." — Faye Flam, The Chicago Tribune, 4 Jan. 2019 Name That Synonym Fill in the blanks to complete a synonym of gullible: f _ _ ec _ _ _ le. [VIEW THE ANSWER [>]]( WORDS AT PLAY Wonderful Words That You're Not Using (Yet) Once you learn these rare words, we challenge you to use them in conversation [SEE THE FULL LIST [>]]( MORE WORD FUN: [WORD GAMES [>]]( [TRENDING NOW [>]]( [WORDS AT PLAY [>]]( FOLLOW US: [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [YouTube]( [Instagram]( [Pinterest]( SHARE: [Facebook][Facebook]( [Twitter][Twitter]( [View this email in a web browser]( You are receiving this email because you opted in to receive the Merriam-Webster Word of the Day. [Unsubscribe from Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day]( [Manage your subscription settings]( Merriam-Webster, Inc. 47 Federal Street P.O. Box 281 Springfield, MA 01102 [www.merriam-webster.com](