View synonyms for ingénue

ingénue

or in·ge·nue

[ an-zhuh-noo, -nyoo; French an-zhey-ny ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

, plural in·gé·nues [an, -zh, uh, -nooz, -nyooz, a, n, -zhey-, ny].

an artless, innocent, unworldly girl or young woman:
Navy and cocoa browns are good neutrals for the ingénue, and the right creamy beige or pearl gray are good choices for her more classic outfits.
the role of a young, innocent, and appealing character in a play, movie, TV show, etc., typically a female role.
an actress or actor who plays such a role or specializes in playing such roles.
a young actress or actor:
At the awards event, natural diamonds were the gemstone of choice for both Hollywood ingenues and veterans alike.
a young, inexperienced person:
The ailing leader Kim Jong Il sought to transfer power to his youngest son, a political ingenue in his 20s.

ingénue

/ ɛ̃ʒeny; ˌænʒeɪˈnjuː /

First recorded in 1840–50; from French, feminine of ingénu, from Latin ingenuus “native, inborn”; ingenuous; ingenuity ( def )

C19: from French, feminine of ingénu ingenuous

She's a steely ingenue, a fair-faced heroine, a leading lady.

See also: the girl in the band, who is often the ultimate ingenue.

It established her at once as an unstagey ingenue—simple, unspoiled, unacquainted with the formulas and formalities of the world.

Cora was my ingenue opposite, it fell out, and so we played at love-making, while meeting coldly at the family dining table.

To the world in general she was still the big-eyed ingenue, learning to take her place in society.

The Heroine and Ingenue hold each other by the hand and take ballet steps in waltz time.

The girl was very pretty, in an appealing ingenue way, her type being of the clinging order.

April 17, 2024axolotl

[ak-suh-lot-l ]

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