faux-naïf
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
noun
Etymology
Origin of faux-naïf
From French, dating back to 1940–45; see origin at faux, naive
Explanation
Use the adjective faux-naif to describe behavior that pretends to be innocent or childlike. Your sister gets away with everything, because her faux-naif act (chin trembling and eyes filling with tears) always works on your parents. When someone is faux-naif, they're putting on a shrewd charade, pretending to be innocent or simple — actually, they know exactly what they're doing. A faux-naif bully might stick out a leg, tripping your friend, then say, "Gee whiz, sorry about that, I didn't know my leg was in your way!" In French, faux-naïf means "false naive" — naive has a Latin root meaning "natural."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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 • Oct. 6, 2020
Her faux-naïf style and lumpy private iconography are the very opposite of suave.
From Washington Post • Feb. 14, 2019
Todd Bienvenu paints both oil and acrylic in a faux-naïf style of broad approximate strokes, bright high-contrast colors and heavy impasto.
From New York Times • Apr. 13, 2017
Andrea Heimer’s acrylic/pencil works on wood panel push a similar faux-naïf sensibility in a different thematic direction, with scenes of Sweet 16 parties and other innocent activities taking a chaotic or surreal turn.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 19, 2013
Unusual, affecting, narrated in a deceptive faux-naïf style, this book won Williams the National Book Tokens Not Yet Published prize.
From The Guardian • Mar. 27, 2010
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
