ingenuous

American  

[in-jen-yoo-uhs] / ɪnˈdʒɛn yu əs /

adjective

1. free from reserve, restraint, or dissimulation; candid; sincere.

   Synonyms:

   guileless, open, straightforward, frank

2. artless; innocent; naive.

   Synonyms:

   unsophisticated

3. Obsolete. honorable or noble.

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ingenuous British  

/ ɪnˈdʒɛnjʊəs /

adjective

1. naive, artless, or innocent

2. candid; frank; straightforward

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Usage

What’s the difference between ingenuous and ingenious? Ingenious means clever or cleverly inventive or resourceful. Ingenuous means sincere or, perhaps more commonly, naive or innocent. Careful: ingenious sounds like genius (the two are often used in the same contexts and even come from the same root) but it’s not spelled ingenius. Ingenious is most often used in the context of ideas, inventions, and solutions considered clever for their inventiveness and resourcefulness. The related noun ingenuity refers to the quality of being ingenious—cleverness or inventiveness. Ingenuous, on the other hand, is most commonly used to describe people—typically people considered naive or overly trusting, especially due to a lack of real-world experience. The related noun ingénue refers to a young, inexperienced person. The adjective disingenuous is more commonly used than ingenuous and means insincere or falsely ingenuous—someone who’s described as disingenuous might be faking naiveté. Once upon a time, ingenious was used to mean ingenuous, but this is no longer the case. To remember the difference, remember that ingenious sounds like genius and is used in similar contexts—an ingenious idea might also be described as a genius idea. Just don’t forget the -ous ending in ingenious. The middle of ingenuous sounds like the beginning of genuine, and an ingenuous person is usually a genuine one—nothing about them is insincere or intended to hide who they really are. Here’s an example of ingenuous and ingenious used correctly in a sentence. Example: The ingenuous inventor signed away the rights to his ingenious new creation without realizing it. Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between ingenuous and ingenious.

Commonly Confused

See ingenious.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• ingenuousness
  noun
• half-ingenuous
  adjective
• half-ingenuously
  adverb
• half-ingenuousness
  noun
• ingenuously
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of ingenuous

First recorded in 1590–1600; from Latin ingenuus “native, free-born, honorable, frank; (of studies or occupations) befitting a freeborn person, liberal,” equivalent to in- verb prefix + gen- (base of gignere “to bring into being”) + -uus adjective suffix; see in- ², ingenious, -ous

Explanation

Someone who is ingenuous shows a childlike innocence, trust, and openness. One of the things kindergarten teachers value is the chance to work with kids while they're still relatively ingenuous — their open, trusting natures are a joy. Ingenuous is roughly synonymous with naive, and its antonym is disingenuous, which means "giving a false impression of being honest and sincere." Don't confuse the word ingenuous with the similarly spelled ingenious, which means "very smart or clever." Ingenuous is from Latin ingenuus "having the qualities of people born free, noble, honest, open."

Example Sentences

Ingenuous General Vaugoin believed him, got him his railroad post.

From Time Magazine Archive

Ingenuous and yet very smart, The Little Accident is full of laughter that keeps its place.

From Time Magazine Archive

This Christmas, as in the past, Ogden Nash's words will still ring true: Sophisticated parents live agog in a world that to them is enchanted; Ingenuous children just naively take it for granted.

From Time Magazine Archive

Ingenuous views engage His thoughts, on themes, unclassic falsely styled, Intent.

From English Verse Specimens Illustrating its Principles and History by Alden, Raymond MacDonald

Sir, Ingenuous and generous minds, such as yours, think themselves obliged by small favours.

From The Life of the Truly Eminent and Learned Hugo Grotius Containing a Copious and Circumstantial History of the Several Important and Honourable Negotiations in Which He Was Employed; together with a Critical Account of His Works by Burigny, Jean Lévesque de