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 Note

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.

Derived Forms

• naˈiveness, noun
• naˈively, adverb

Other Words From

• na·ive·ly adverb
• na·ive·ness noun
• un·na·ive 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

"Call me naive, but I believe I am the right guy at the right time. I truly believe I am the right guy."

From BBC

“The idea to kick out money out of politics was naive,” the 40-year-old told me earlier that day.

From Los Angeles Times

Lurie he said he isn’t naive about the challenges ahead, or how difficult the job might get.

From Los Angeles Times

"Interestingly, it was shown that healthy fibroblasts that are exposed to the secretome of skin cancer cells in the laboratory develop a similar behavior to iCAFs and are capable of activating naive T cells," says study leader Beate Lichtenberger from MedUni Vienna's Department of Dermatology, describing the results, "this shows that it may be possible to target these subtypes."

From Science Daily

“I know it sounds so simple and naive, but I don’t understand how the bad guy keeps winning,” she says, choking up, her soft voice tinged with disbelief.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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