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

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.

Other Word Forms

• naively adverb
• naiveness noun
• unnaive 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

My inclination was always to sneak on the air without any fanfare whatsoever, and then maybe advertise after — that is very naive, apparently.

From Los Angeles Times

"I think every professional adviser makes mistakes, but the volume of and the consistency of these complex, high-risk, unregulated investments were just totally unsuitable for young, naive, kind of financially inexperienced footballers," said Rees.

From BBC

Itauma acknowledges previous dreams of taking Tyson's record as the youngest heavyweight champion were "naive".

From BBC

I loved his wayward, almost naive approach to conversation — “I ask dumb,” he said — which could produce interesting results that might elude better prepared interviewers.

From Los Angeles Times

I finally realized that notion was absurdly naive back in 2003, when it became clear that we were embarking on a period of electoral warfare.

From Salon

Related Words

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