swallowing whole; gulping down
Literally swallowing food without chewing, like a cormorant (鵜). Often used in the set phrase 鵜呑みにする.
He swallowed the fish whole.
You shouldn't just take his story at face value.
accepting uncritically; swallowing a story
Figurative use: accepting information, explanations, or stories without questioning or verifying them. Common in 鵜呑みにする.
You shouldn't swallow his story without question.
It's dangerous to accept online information uncritically.
It's dangerous to swallow information from the internet without checking it.
盲信 is a more formal, negative term for blindly believing something without any critical thought, whereas 鵜呑み (used as 鵜呑みにする) is the everyday expression for taking a story or explanation at face value.
Standard kanji spelling.
Kana spelling is common in everyday writing.
From 鵜 (cormorant) + 呑み (swallowing), referring to the way cormorants swallow fish whole. The figurative sense developed from the literal image of swallowing without chewing.