naive

American  

[nah-eev] / nɑˈiv /

Or naïve

adjective

1. having or showing a lack of experience, judgment, or information; credulous.

   She's so naive she believes everything she reads.

   He has a very naive attitude toward politics.

2. having or showing unaffected simplicity of nature or absence of artificiality; unsophisticated; ingenuous.

   Synonyms:

   plain, open, candid, guileless, artless, unaffected, simple

   Antonyms:

   artful, sophisticated

3. having or marked by a simple, unaffectedly direct style reflecting little or no formal training or technique.

   valuable naive 19th-century American portrait paintings.

4. not having previously been the subject of a scientific experiment, as an animal.

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naive British  

/ naɪˈiːv /

adjective

1. 1. having or expressing innocence and credulity; ingenuous

   2. ( as collective noun; preceded by the )

      only the naive believed him

2. artless or unsophisticated

3. lacking developed powers of analysis, reasoning, or criticism

   a naive argument

4. another word for primitive

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noun

1. rare a person who is naive, esp in artistic style See primitive

Usage

This word is spelled with a dieresis over the i (ï) in French, indicating that it is a separate vowel sound. Many people retain this spelling when writing in English.

Other Word Forms

• naively adverb
• naiveness noun
• unnaive adjective

Etymology

Origin of naive

First recorded in 1645–55; from French, feminine of naïf, Old French naif “natural, instinctive,” from Latin nātīvus native

Explanation

No one likes being called naive, since it means you lack sophistication or street smarts. A person who is too trusting can be criticized for being overly naive: "You're so naive, you think that map you bought online will really lead you to buried treasure!" Naive shares the same root as native, and originally meant "natural" or "not artificial." It can still be used in a more positive meaning when describing a charming lack of artificiality, as in "the naive style of folk art made by an untrained painter."

Example Sentences

"I was naive and there's a lot I've learned from it and there are things I would have done differently," he told the latest Newscast episode.

From BBC • Mar. 28, 2026

I mean, this could be naive, but I feel 100% safe that you are never going to replicate an evening of stand-up at a nigtclub like that.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2026

It would be naive to say that wasn’t an accelerant.

From Slate • Mar. 25, 2026

Set during Stalin’s Great Purge in the 1930s, Sergei Loznitsa’s film follows a naive young lawyer as he attempts to navigate his country’s legal system.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026

I know I’m being naive, but I want to hold on to some hope for the woman—for all of us.

From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed

Related Words

• ignorant
• innocent
• simple
• sincere
• unsophisticated
• wide-eyed