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. )

Explanation

A naif is a person with very little experience. When you're just starting a new job, you often feel like a naif. You might have noticed how similar the noun naif is to the adjective naive. They share a common origin, the French word naïf, which means both "natural, unspoiled, or innocent" and also "foolish." When you describe someone using the adjective form of naif — which can be used interchangeably with naive — you are usually implying that the person is a little childlike or immature.

Example Sentences

Her persona is part space alien, part naïf of some Baltic backwater.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 21, 2025

It’s a classic hero’s journey as the young naïf leaves home and learns the harsh truth about the world.

From Los Angeles Times • May 9, 2024

Much of the criticism of Ms. Swift, meanwhile, seems tinged with condescension, suggesting that a 33-year-old female pop star is a gullible naïf, ripe for bamboozling by political operators.

From New York Times • Feb. 3, 2024

One of the greatest tragedies of the Messenger is a hypothetical left unfulfilled: What could someone who wasn’t a complete naïf have done with a $50 million investment in a media company?

From Slate • Feb. 1, 2024

With every artist it is even so; The artist, after all, is a Pierrot— A Pierrot of the minute, naïf, clever, But Art is back of him, She lives for ever!

From Fifty Contemporary One-Act Plays by Various