guileless
Americanadjective
-
free from deception or slyness; sincere and straightforward.
No matter the situation, she was always transparent, guileless, and above any petty manipulative ploys.
-
lacking awareness of the world and worldly things; innocent or naive.
He agreed to this crafty proposal, being guileless, and soon found himself betrayed and in trouble.
adjective
Other Word Forms
- guilelessly adverb
- guilelessness noun
Etymology
Origin of guileless
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.
Bald with severe features but a soft and guileless disposition, he’s fidgety about the whole Hollywood press dance — this is only his fourth feature film score.
From Los Angeles Times
You may remember those matches from “Forrest Gump,” but Tom Hanks’ guileless sweetheart would never use the sport to smuggle gold bars out of Hong Kong, as the real Reisman once did.
From Los Angeles Times
But don’t let the big smile and the guileless demeanor fool you: Diane Keaton was no lightweight.
This guileless 17-year-old, Chicano kid from Pacoima found a way to introduce himself to America by taking something familiar and making it feel like nothing you had heard before.
From Los Angeles Times
"Having spent so much time with him, my perception is that he's completely guileless. He has a lot of warmth and innocence, so I wanted to show that."
From BBC
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.
