naive

na·ive or na·ïve  (n-v, nä-) also na·if or na·ïf (n-f, nä-)

adj.

1. Lacking worldly experience and understanding, especially:

a. Simple and guileless; artless: a child with a naive charm.

b. Unsuspecting or credulous: "Students, often bright but naive, betand losesubstantial sums of money on sporting events" (Tim Layden).

2. Showing or characterized by a lack of sophistication and critical judgment: "this extravagance of metaphors, with its naive bombast" (H.L. Mencken).

3.

a. Not previously subjected to experiments: testing naive mice.

b. Not having previously taken or received a particular drug: persons naive to marijuana.

n.

One who is artless, credulous, or uncritical.

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[French naïve, feminine of naïf, from Old French naif, natural, native, from Latin ntvus, native, rustic, from ntus, past participle of nsc, to be born; see gen- in Indo-European roots.]

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na·ively adv.

na·iveness n.

Synonyms: naive, simple, ingenuous, unsophisticated, natural, unaffected, guileless, artless
These adjectives mean free from guile, cunning, or sham. Naive sometimes connotes a credulity that impedes effective functioning in a practical world: "this naive simple creature, with his straightforward and friendly eyes so eager to believe appearances" (Arnold Bennett).
Simple stresses absence of complexity, artifice, pretentiousness, or dissimulation: "Those of highest worth and breeding are most simple in manner and attire" (Francis Parkman). "Among simple people she had the reputation of being a prodigy of information" (Harriet Beecher Stowe).
Ingenuous denotes childlike directness, simplicity, and innocence; it connotes an inability to mask one's feelings: an ingenuous admission of responsibility.
Unsophisticated indicates absence of worldliness: the astonishment of unsophisticated tourists at the tall buildings.
Natural stresses spontaneity that is the result of freedom from self-consciousness or inhibitions: "When Kavanagh was present, Alice was happy, but embarrassed; Cecelia, joyous and natural" (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow).
Unaffected implies sincerity and lack of affectation: "With men he can be rational and unaffected, but when he has ladies to please, every feature works" (Jane Austen).
Guileless signifies absence of insidious or treacherous cunning: a guileless, disarming look.
Artless stresses absence of plan or purpose and suggests unconcern for or lack of awareness of the reaction produced in others: a child of artless grace and simple goodness.

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naive, naïve [nɑːˈiːv naɪˈiːv], naïf

adj

1.

a.  having or expressing innocence and credulity; ingenuous

b.  (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 [5]

n

(Fine Arts & Visual Arts / Art Terms) Rare a person who is naive, esp in artistic style See primitive [10]

[from French, feminine of naïf, from Old French naif native, spontaneous, from Latin nātīvus native, from nasci to be born]

naively , naïvely, naïfly adv

naiveness , naïveness, naïfness n

Thesaurus

Adj.	1.	naive - marked by or showing unaffected simplicity and lack of guile or worldly experience; "a teenager's naive ignorance of life"; "the naive assumption that things can only get better"; "this naive simple creature with wide friendly eyes so eager to believe appearances" naif credulous - disposed to believe on little evidence; "the gimmick would convince none but the most credulous" uninformed - not informed; lacking in knowledge or information; "the uninformed public" unworldly - not concerned with the temporal world or swayed by mundane considerations; "was unworldly and did not greatly miss worldly rewards"- Sheldon Cheney sophisticated - having or appealing to those having worldly knowledge and refinement and savoir-faire; "sophisticated young socialites"; "a sophisticated audience"; "a sophisticated lifestyle"; "a sophisticated book"
	2.	naive - of or created by one without formal training; simple or naive in style; "primitive art such as that by Grandma Moses is often colorful and striking" primitive beaux arts, fine arts - the study and creation of visual works of art untrained - not disciplined or conditioned or made adept by training; "an untrained voice"; "untrained troops"; "young minds untrained in the habit of concentration"
	3.	naive - inexperienced innate, unconditioned, unlearned - not established by conditioning or learning; "an unconditioned reflex"
	4.	naive - lacking information or instruction; "lamentably unenlightened as to the laws" uninstructed, unenlightened uninformed - not informed; lacking in knowledge or information; "the uninformed public"
	5.	naive - not initiated; deficient in relevant experience; "it seemed a bizarre ceremony to uninitiated western eyes"; "he took part in the experiment as a naive subject" uninitiate, uninitiated inexperienced, inexperient - lacking practical experience or training

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naive

adjective gullible, trusting, credulous, unsuspicious, green, simple, innocent, childlike, callow, unsophisticated, unworldly, artless, ingenuous, guileless, wet behind the ears (informal), jejune, as green as grass He's so naive he'll believe anything I tell him.
gullible worldly, experienced, sophisticated, sly, artful, urbane, disingenuous, worldly-wise