gullible

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 12, 2023 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>gullible</strong> &#149; \GULL-uh-bul\&nbsp; &#149; <em>adjective</em><br /> <p>Someone described as <em>gullible</em> is easily fooled or cheated. In other words, they are quick to believe something that is not true.</p> <p>// The store sells overpriced souvenirs to <em>gullible</em> tourists, and no self-respecting local would shop there.</p> <p><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gullible">See the entry ></a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>“It’s true that reality television has grown to look more and more like <em>The Truman Show</em> in the quarter-century following the film’s release, but even more unnerving, so have <em>we</em> as viewers. In 1998 the movie’s premise provoked dread. Now, though, we find easy humor and comfort in watching shows like it, in seeing a kind but <em>gullible</em> person bumble their way through a fake reality designed to strain <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/credulity">credulity</a>.” — Casey Epstein-Gross, <em>Observer.com</em>, 22 June 2023</p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>“Let a gull steal my fries once, shame on the gull; let a gull steal my fries twice, shame on me.” So goes the classic, oft-repeated seaside <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/maxim">maxim</a> reminding people to guard against being gullible. Okay, that’s not really how the old <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/saw">saw</a> goes, but on the off chance that you believed our little trick, you yourself were, however briefly, gullible—that is, “easily duped.” The adjective <em>gullible</em> grew out of the older verb <em>gull</em>, meaning “to deceive or take advantage of.” (That <em>gull</em> originally meant “to guzzle or gulp greedily,” and comes from an even older <em>gull<