ingénue

American  

[an-zhuh-noo, -nyoo, an-zhay-ny] / ˈæn ʒəˌnu, -ˌnju, ɛ̃ ʒeɪˈnü /

Or ingenue

noun

• ingénues
  plural

1. an artless, innocent, unworldly girl or young woman.

   Navy and cocoa browns are good neutrals for the ingénue, and the right creamy beige or pearl gray are good choices for her more classic outfits.

2. the role of a young, innocent, and appealing character in a play, movie, TV show, etc., typically a female role.

3. an actress or actor who plays such a role or specializes in playing such roles.

4. a young actress or actor.

   At the awards event, natural diamonds were the gemstone of choice for both Hollywood ingenues and veterans alike.

5. a young, inexperienced person.

   The ailing leader Kim Jong Il sought to transfer power to his youngest son, a political ingenue in his 20s.

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ingénue British  

/ ˌænʒeɪˈnjuː, ɛ̃ʒeny /

noun

1. an artless, innocent, or inexperienced girl or young woman

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• ingénues
  plural

Etymology

Origin of ingénue

First recorded in 1840–50; from French, feminine of ingénu, from Latin ingenuus “native, inborn”; see origin at ingenuous; see also ingenuity ( def. )

Explanation

What do Ophelia, Snow White, and Sandy from the movie "Grease" all have in common? You could call each one an ingénue, or a young female character in literature or film who is wholesome and innocent. Ingénue comes from the French ingénu meaning "ingenuous, innocent." The term is used to describe the innocent girl stock character in film or literature. She's usually gentle, sweet, virginal, and pretty naive — which makes her susceptible to the harsh dangers of the world. Ingénue can also be used to describe an actress who specializes in playing this kind of character specifically.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ingénue ingénues

All of the things that make him an unlikely ingénue — the flop sweat, the slight chunkiness, the desire to pass for a cute foodie — click into place.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026

In these images Sellers—a comic giant at the height of his career—acts as an eager paparazzo chasing after the self-assured ingénue.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 13, 2026

Pickett explains: "I wasn't really interested in her being an ingénue."

From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2025

The younger women are the most vulnerable to this idealistic image people have for us to have it all figured out before the clock strikes 30, and we are no longer the young ingénue.

From Salon ● Nov. 3, 2023

I happen to know that in his new production the leading rôle is that of a simple little country girl—just the sort of ingénue you were when I first met you at French Lick.

From A Star for a Night A Story of Stage Life by Elsie Janis

Instead, the ingénues were cast in lead roles.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2025

Sitting next to a casting director as a line of secondary ingénues streamed past, Dan said, “I vote for her,” and she got the part.

From Golf Digest ● Mar. 8, 2019

Her troupe did such physical work — "we weren't ingénues at all" — that it actually took her years to unlearn larger-than-life stage theater and transition to naturalistic film acting.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 2, 2018

“People want women in food media to be ingénues or broads,” she says, adding that she is neither.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 2, 2018

She stood before the screen, certain she could practically smell the restaurant, the heavy perfumes of a room full of divas and ingénues.

From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny

Related Words

• artist
• character
• clown
• comedian
• entertainer
• performer
• player
• star
• villain