naive

Or na·ïve

[nah-eev]

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.

naive

/ 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

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

• naiveness noun
• naively adverb
• unnaive adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of naive¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of naive¹

C17: from French, feminine of naïf, from Old French naif native, spontaneous, from Latin nātīvus _native , from nasci to be born

Example Sentences

“I wasn’t naive enough to think that this wouldn’t have an impact.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Using her charm offensive, Hedda goads naive spouses to cheat, recovering alcoholics to drink and depressives to wander off into the darkness with a revolver.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha” reminds us that we’re only a naive and caring interloper away from making the world a slightly more welcoming place.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“I am not so naive to think that I don’t have anything to learn. God, I would quit now!”

Read more on Salon

Pat Murphy, Milwaukee’s 66-year-old manager, isn’t naive enough to believe that the Brewers are solely responsible for this bizarre phenomenon.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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