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

Also featured is Mekki Leeper, who wrote and starred in “Jury Duty,” as Matt, a novice RN who grew up in a Montana religious community “that doesn’t believe in ‘medicine’ ” ; as the just-arriving character, he’s idealistic, because he’s naive, and will have much to learn.

From Los Angeles Times

“Maybe this was naive of us, or naive of me, but I never thought that the city and the mayor would chose somebody like McDonnell to be chief.”

From Los Angeles Times

The governor pushed back on the notion that Trump would thwart his plans, but said he wasn’t naive about “this being a very challenged environment” if Trump won.

From Los Angeles Times

When Obama was elected, I was naive about political power.

From Salon

I was equally naive after Trump's first term, thinking his presidency would cause our country to collapse.

From Salon

Related Words

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