naïf

American  

[nah-eef] / nɑˈif /

Or naif

noun

1. a naive or inexperienced person.

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adjective

1. naive.

naïf British  

/ naɪˈiːf /

adjective

1. a less common word for naive

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Etymology

Origin of naïf

First recorded in 1575–1600 ; from Middle French; masculine of naïve ( def. )

Example Sentences

For Naif Alanazi, a 35-year-old Ph.D. student at Kent State University, bedtime is a sacred ritual for him and his 4-year-old daughter, Yasmeen.

From New York Times

Among those watching the excavation was Naif Jasso, the Sheikh of Kocho, a Yazidi community that suffered an even worse attack than Zile-li.

From BBC

Farrell is the wounded, almost childlike naïf who doesn’t appreciate his surroundings.

From Los Angeles Times

"We see operating conditions remaining favourable in December, characterised by rapid growth in the non-oil activities and a robust labour market by the end of 2022, with both jobs and wages having far more momentum than previously thought," said Naif Al-Ghaith, chief economist at Riyad Bank.

From Reuters

Now, with $8 billion of his customers’ holdings seemingly having evaporated, he was a careless naïf who just didn’t exercise proper diligence over his core business and let problems he was dimly aware of get disastrously out of hand.

From Slate