naively

or na·ïve·ly

[ nah-eev-lee ]

adverb

1. in a way that shows a lack of experience, judgment, or information:

   I'll just stretch the contents of my talks into a book, I thought naively, but after three years of hard work I’m still far from completing a manuscript.

2. in a way that shows simplicity of character and the absence of artificiality or sophistication:

   The ancient historian Herodotus marks a transitional stage in cultural anthropology, between naively artless chronicle writing and scientific research.

3. in a way not influenced by previous participation in a scientific experiment or awareness of its real purpose:

   Participants behave naively and more naturally if they don’t know the true nature or objective of the study.

Other Words From

• un·na·ive·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of naively¹

naive ( def ) + -ly

Example Sentences

I was naively hopeful they could use it to quickly trace the caller and arrest the man.

From BBC

“How bad could the commute be?” we naively thought.

From Los Angeles Times

“That actually made me a bit emotional, because I was like, wow, you're going above and beyond for something that's not your fault… that's how I saw it at the time, naively,” Jack says.

From BBC

I naively predicted based on societal norms and associated my own happiness to these details.

From Los Angeles Times

“They pretend to know, sometimes very naively, what happened to the bodies they are dealing with,” said Gideon Aran, a sociologist at Jerusalem’s Hebrew University who wrote a recent book on the organization.

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• foolishly
• stupidly