in·gen·u·ous
Audio Help [in-jen-yoo-uh
s] Pronunciation Key
—Related forms
Audio Help [in-jen-yoo-uh
s] Pronunciation Key –adjective
| 1. | free from reserve, restraint, or dissimulation; candid; sincere. |
| 2. | artless; innocent; naive. |
| 3. | Obsolete. honorable or noble. |
[Origin: 1590–1600; < L ingenuus native, free-born, honorable, frank, equiv. to in- in-2 + gen- (base of gignere; see ingenious) + -uus deverbal adj. suffix; see -ous
]
] —Related forms
in·gen·u·ous·ly, adverb
in·gen·u·ous·ness, noun
—Synonyms 1. frank, straightforward, open. 2. guileless.
—Usage note See ingenious.
| Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
ingenuous
To learn more about ingenuous visit Britannica.com
| © 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |
| in·gen·u·ous
Audio Help (ĭn-jěn'yōō-əs) Pronunciation Key
adj.
[Latin ingenuus, honest, freeborn; see genə- in Indo-European roots.] in·gen'u·ous·ly adv., in·gen'u·ous·ness n. |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
ingenuous
1598, from L. ingenuus "with the virtues of freeborn people, of noble character, frank," originally "native, freeborn," from in- "in" + gen-, root of gignere "beget, produce" (see genus). Sense of "artless, innocent" is 1673, from notion of "honorably straightforward."
| Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper |
| ingenuous | |
adjective | |
| 1. | characterized by an inability to mask your feelings; not devious; "an ingenuous admission of responsibility" [ant: artful] |
| 2. | lacking in sophistication or worldliness; "a child's innocent stare"; "his ingenuous explanation that he would not have burned the church if he had not thought the bishop was in it" [syn: innocent] |
| WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University. |
Ingenuous
Can*did\ (k[a^]n"d[i^]d), a. [F. candide (cf. It. candido), L. candidus white, fr. cand[=e]re to be of a glowing white; akin to accend[e^]re, incend[e^]re, to set on fire, Skr. chand to shine. Cf. Candle, Incense.]1. White. [Obs.] The box receives all black; but poured from thence, The stones came candid forth, the hue of innocence. --Dryden. 2. Free from undue bias; disposed to think and judge according to truth and justice, or without partiality or prejudice; fair; just; impartial; as, a candid opinion. "Candid and dispassionate men." --W. Irving. 3. Open; frank; ingenuous; outspoken. Syn: Fair; open; ingenuous; impartial; just; frank; artless; unbiased; equitable. Usage: Candid, Fair, Open, Frank, Ingenuous. A man is fair when he puts things on a just or equitable footing; he is candid when be looks impartially on both sides of a subject, doing justice especially to the motives and conduct of an opponent; he is open and frank when he declares his sentiments without reserve; he is ingenuous when he does this from a noble regard for truth. Fair dealing; candid investigation; an open temper; a frank disposition; an ingenuous answer or declaration.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
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