naive
or na·ïve
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.
having or showing unaffected simplicity of nature or absence of artificiality; unsophisticated; ingenuous.
having or marked by a simple, unaffectedly direct style reflecting little or no formal training or technique: valuable naive 19th-century American portrait paintings.
not having previously been the subject of a scientific experiment, as an animal.
Origin of naive
1usage note For naive
Other words for naive
Opposites for naive
Other words from naive
- na·ive·ly, adverb
- na·ive·ness, noun
- un·na·ive, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
British Dictionary definitions for naive
nave naf
/ (naɪˈiːv) /
having or expressing innocence and credulity; ingenuous
(as collective noun; preceded by the): only the naive believed him
artless or unsophisticated
lacking developed powers of analysis, reasoning, or criticism: a naive argument
another word for primitive (def. 5)
rare a person who is naive, esp in artistic style: See primitive (def. 10)
Origin of naive
1Derived forms of naive
- naively, navely or nafly, adverb
- naiveness, naveness or nafness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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