Advanced and Proficiency Vocabulary for Exams(e.g.GRE, Banks, Civil Services, SAT / LSAT). For IELTS/TOEFL, and everyday spoken vocabulary, go to our Spoken Vocabulary Database.
ingenuous | ingenuousness
naive and trusting
- How to Memorize
- ingenuous - naive
- Analysis
If somebody is described as ‘ingenuous’, they are considered to be lacking in worldliness or sophistication. It is characterized by a kind of child-like innocence and openness which can be both charming and dangerously naive. Not to be confused with ‘ingenious', which means 'clever or skillful'.
Exam DB Spoken DB Other Synonyms candid artless, unsophisticated, Antonyms guileful, cunning, canny, - Example(s)
Tom didn’t leave the business for a new challenge, he left for a bigger paycheck. It would be ingenuous to think otherwise.
Claire has an ingenuous smile that is very disarming, but she is no push-over.
The ingenuousness of asking a total stranger for a lift is incredible to me. Anna needs to be more careful.
