naive

Or na·ïve

[nah-eev]

adjective

1. having or showing a lack of experience, judgment, or information; credulous.

   She's so naive she believes everything she reads.

   He has a very naive attitude toward politics.

2. having or showing unaffected simplicity of nature or absence of artificiality; unsophisticated; ingenuous.

   Synonyms: plain, open, candid, guileless, artless, unaffected, simple
   Antonyms: artful, sophisticated

3. having or marked by a simple, unaffectedly direct style reflecting little or no formal training or technique.

   valuable naive 19th-century American portrait paintings.

4. not having previously been the subject of a scientific experiment, as an animal.

naive

/ naɪˈiːv /

adjective

1. 1. having or expressing innocence and credulity; ingenuous

   2. ( as collective noun; preceded by the )

      only the naive believed him

2. artless or unsophisticated

3. lacking developed powers of analysis, reasoning, or criticism

   a naive argument

4. another word for primitive

noun

1. rare,  a person who is naive, esp in artistic style See primitive

Usage

This word is spelled with a dieresis over the i (ï) in French, indicating that it is a separate vowel sound. Many people retain this spelling when writing in English.

Other Word Forms

• naively adverb
• naiveness noun
• unnaive adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of naive¹

First recorded in 1645–55; from French, feminine of naïf, Old French naif “natural, instinctive,” from Latin nātīvus native

Word History and Origins

Origin of naive¹

C17: from French, feminine of naïf, from Old French naif native, spontaneous, from Latin nātīvus _native , from nasci to be born

Example Sentences

But it was "a bit naive" of him to think that the Russians would allow him to get away with it.

Read more on Barron's

When I asked Queen Rania if she believed a lasting peace was possible, she said hope for this was not naive, but a form of defiance.

Read more on BBC

He's got a much better squad at Spurs than he ever had with Brentford, so it's naive to think this team won't progress and become easier on the eye - I believe they will, 100%.

Read more on BBC

“I wasn’t naive enough to think that this wouldn’t have an impact.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Using her charm offensive, Hedda goads naive spouses to cheat, recovering alcoholics to drink and depressives to wander off into the darkness with a revolver.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• ignorant 
• innocent 
• simple 
• sincere 
• unsophisticated 
• wide-eyed