naivety
Americannoun
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naiveties
plural
noun
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the state or quality of being naive; ingenuousness; simplicity
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a naive act or statement
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Explanation
Naivety refers to a lack of experience or sophistication. That taxi driver who charged your Aunt Fay $75 for the ride from the airport was taking advantage of her naivety — your aunt didn’t know it should only cost $50. The noun naivety often refers to the kind of inexperience that allows you to be tricked, but it can also refer to a trusting innocent or a lack of sophistication. For example, if you think you can treat your boss’s daughter like any other employee and just say whatever you want when you have lunch, you may be exhibiting naivety — she may tell your boss what you said.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Preparing to set out on a long car journey, naivety tends to get the best of us.
From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2026
That isn’t naivety or disloyalty to any American vision of a new world order.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 21, 2026
Sana insisted the situation was under control and urged citizens "not to be misled, out of naivety, into dangerous schemes".
From BBC ● Jan. 7, 2026
"We are investing in means of action from the ground and space while respecting international law, but without any naivety," he said.
From Barron's ● Nov. 12, 2025
I thought it necessary to update some of the words so that the religiosity and naivety of the time, which were genuine, would not seem too quaint to the modem ear.
From "The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War" by Michael Shaara
But, as I advanced through the book, I saw those naiveties slip away, away from Brown, away from his family and away from his pictures.
From Time ● Jul. 20, 2016
And does the U. S. bar from its post such naiveties as this, friends of Judge might hotly demand?
From Time Magazine Archive
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
