faux-naïf

American  

[foh-nah-eef] / ˈfoʊ nɑˈif /

adjective

1. marked by a pretense of simplicity or innocence; disingenuous.

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noun

1. a person who shrewdly affects an attitude or pose of simplicity or innocence.

faux-naïf British  

/ fonaif /

adjective

1. appearing or seeking to appear simple and unsophisticated

   a faux-naïf narration

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noun

1. a person who pretends to be naïve

Etymology

Origin of faux-naïf

From French, dating back to 1940–45; faux, naive

Example Sentences

This deliberate de-skilling, a faux-naïf embrace of “pure,” even childish expression, puts the work squarely in conversation with so-called outsider art, the bloody revolt of Henry Darger’s Vivian Girls in particular.

From New York Times

She paints a thick inky black-on-white, in a faux-naïf pastiche of East and West.

From New York Times

The strength of her voice lies in the faux-naïf lens through which she filters her dark view of humankind: We earthlings are sad, truncated bots, shuffling through the world in a dream of confusion.

From New York Times

Her faux-naïf style and lumpy private iconography are the very opposite of suave.

From Washington Post

The Currier Museum of Art in Manchester, N.H., had one of her utterly original, droll, faux-naïf sculptural ensembles.

From Washington Post