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SAT TEM8 GMAT GRE
外刊例句
- They can separate the gullible from their money in New Age healing shops.
摆在新时代疗愈店里的那些能让轻信的人乖乖掏出钞票。
——《经济学人》 - Hatred makes people gullible and foolish.
仇恨使人容易上当受骗,变得愚蠢。
——《纽约时报》
基本释义
[adjective] easily persuaded to believe something; credulous
[形容词] 容易被说服相信某事的;轻信的
深入解读
从拼写上来看, gullible 是一个与小站(微信公众号:田间小站)推送过的 legible, tangible, feasible, eligible, indelible, plausible 等有着相同结尾的单词,几者可以一并联想记忆。
从词源上来看, gullible 一词逆构自名词 gullibility (轻信、容易上当、易受欺骗),最早出现于1818年,相应用来表示“轻信的、易上当的、易受骗的”,侧重指因缺乏必要的智慧而容易上当受骗或者遭人愚弄的,而非缺乏怀疑精神。比如:
- 市场上有好多种所谓的奇效药,专门诱骗那些轻信的人掏腰包。
There are any number of miracle cures on the market for people gullible enough to buy them.
名著用例
A wizard — young, foolish, and gullible — wandered across my path in the forest I had made my home.
一个年轻愚蠢、容易上当的巫师走进了我落脚的那片森林,偏巧被我撞上。
出自英国作家J·K·罗琳的奇幻小说《哈利·波特》系列的第四本《哈利·波特与火焰杯》(Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire)。
同近义词
- credulous: having or showing too great a readiness to believe things
- ingenuous: (of a person or action) innocent and unsuspecting
- naive: (of a person or action) showing a lack of experience, wisdom, or judgement