credulousnessn.
/ˈkrɛdjᵿləsnəs/, /ˈkrɛdʒᵿləsnəs/, U.S. /ˈkrɛdʒələsnəs/ The quality or state of being credulous; credulity.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > [noun] > readiness to believe
credulity1532
credulousness1598
credulitiveness1824
credenciveness1839
the mind > mental capacity > belief > belief, trust, confidence > over-readiness to believe, credulity > [noun]
overtrowingc1425
overtrowtha1500
overtrowshipa1525
credulity1547
tickle credit1563
credulency1586
credulousness1598
overcredulityc1625
credulence1650
sequaciousness1653
ultrafidianism1825
nasoductilitya1834
camel-swallowing1858
acceptativeness1870
leadableness1885
1598 R. Grenewey tr. Tacitus Annales ii. xix. 60 The night furthered their credulousnes.
1605 E. Sandys Relation State of Relig. sig. F4v Whose sex hath beene famous ever for devotion and credulousnesse.
1663 R. Boyle Some Considerations Usefulnesse Exper. Nat. Philos. ii. iv. 235 Their ignorance and credulousness, together with the liberty and meaness of those Creatures they physick, gives them leave to venture on any thing.
a1729 S. Clarke Serm. (1730) I. i. 20 Beyond all credulity..is the credulousness of Atheists, whose Belief is so absurdly strong, as to believe that Chance could make the World.
1770 J. Andrews Rev. Characters Principal Nations Europe II. 42 They profess the most boundless Belief, or rather Credulousness, in all the silly Legends with which their Treatises of Devotion are filled.
1891 Spectator 28 Feb. He fell a victim to his own credulousness.
1951 G. Kane Middle Eng. Lit. i. 6 The limits to the credulousness of an intelligent man of the fourteenth century were more widely set than our own, but they did exist.
2004 Times Lit. Suppl. 26 Nov. 4/2 Even an intelligent credulity, such as she exercised, was still, as far as her husband was concerned, more credulousness than intelligence.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2013; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1598