naively

American  

[nah-eev-lee] / nɑˈiv li /

Or naïvely

adverb

1. in a way that shows a lack of experience, judgment, or information.

   I'll just stretch the contents of my talks into a book, I thought naively, but after three years of hard work I’m still far from completing a manuscript.

2. in a way that shows simplicity of character and the absence of artificiality or sophistication.

   The ancient historian Herodotus marks a transitional stage in cultural anthropology, between naively artless chronicle writing and scientific research.

3. in a way not influenced by previous participation in a scientific experiment or awareness of its real purpose.

   Participants behave naively and more naturally if they don’t know the true nature or objective of the study.

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Other Word Forms

• unnaively
  adverb

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Etymology

Origin of naively

naive ( def. ) + -ly

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

naively

Meanwhile, Lohrmann said AI has been a naively optimistic passive-income coach.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026

One senior party figure told me it was naively optimistic to think that this could be replicated across so many seats.

From BBC ● May 10, 2026

And yet it represented a floor which I naively believed democratic accountability could not fall beneath without consequence.

From Salon ● Mar. 8, 2026

In Brontë’s book, Isabella marries Heathcliff naively believing he might shape up into a gentleman and flees with their son when she realizes that is out of the question.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 13, 2026

Sam Adams was so pleased that Johnny, a little naively, thought he must have word that Parliament had backed down again.

From "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Hoskins Forbes

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Related Words

• foolishly
• stupidly

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