naive definition | Dictionary.com

na⋅ive

[nah-eev]

–adjective

1.	having or showing unaffected simplicity of nature or absence of artificiality; unsophisticated; ingenuous.

2.	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.

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.

Also, na⋅ïve.

Origin:
1645–55; < F, fem. of naïf, OF naif natural, instinctive < L nātīvus native

Related forms:

na⋅ive⋅ly, adverb

na⋅ive⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
1. simple, unaffected, unsuspecting, artless, guileless, candid, open, plain.

Antonyms:
1. sophisticated, artful.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To naive

na·ive or na·ïve (nī-ēv', nä-)

adj.

Lacking worldly experience and understanding, especially:
1. Simple and guileless; artless: a child with a naive charm.
2. Unsuspecting or credulous: "Students, often bright but naive, bet—and lose—substantial sums of money on sporting events" (Tim Layden).
3. Not previously subjected to experiments: testing naive mice.
4. Not having previously taken or received a particular drug: persons naive to marijuana.
Showing or characterized by a lack of sophistication and critical judgment: "this extravagance of metaphors, with its naive bombast" (H.L. Mencken).
1. Not previously subjected to experiments: testing naive mice.
2. Not having previously taken or received a particular drug: persons naive to marijuana.

n. One who is artless, credulous, or uncritical.

[French naïve, feminine of naïf, from Old French naif, natural, native, from Latin nātīvus, native, rustic, from nātus, past participle of nāscī, to be born; see genə- in Indo-European roots.]
na·ive'ly adv., na·ive'ness n.

Synonyms: 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.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Naive

Na"["i]ve`\, a. [F. na["i]f, fem. na["i]ve, fr. L. nativus innate, natural, native. See Native, and cf. Na["i]f.] Having native or unaffected simplicity; ingenuous; artless; frank; as, na["i]ve manners; a na["i]ve person; na["i]ve and unsophisticated remarks.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : naive

Spanish: cándido,

German: naiv,

Japanese: 素朴な

More Translations »

naive

adj.
1. Untutored in the perversities of some particular program or system; one who still tries to do things in an intuitive way, rather than the right way (in really good designs these coincide, but most designs aren't `really good' in the appropriate sense). This trait is completely unrelated to general maturity or competence, or even competence at any other specific program. It is a sad commentary on the primitive state of computing that the natural opposite of this term is often claimed to be `experienced user' but is really more like `cynical user'.
2. Said of an algorithm that doesn't take advantage of some superior but advanced technique, e.g., the bubble sort. It may imply naivete on the part of the programmer, although there are situations where a naive algorithm is preferred, because it is more important to keep the code comprehensible than to go for maximum performance. "I know the linear search is naive, but in this case the list typically only has half a dozen items."

Jargon File 4.2.0
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naive

1654, from Fr. naïve, fem. of naïf, from O.Fr. naif "naive, natural, just born," from L. nativus "not artificial," also "native, rustic," lit. "born, innate, natural" (see native). Naiveté is 1673, from Fr. naïveté, from O.Fr. naiveté "native disposition." Anglicized form naivety is attested from 1708.

Main Entry: na·ive
Variant: or na·ïve /nä-'Ev/
Function: adjective
Inflected Forms: na·iv·er;-est
1 : not previously subjected to experimentation or a particular experimental situation naive rats>
2 : not havingpreviously used a particular drug (as marijuana)
3 : not having been exposed previously to an antigen naive immune system> <naive T cells>

naive na·ive or na·ïve (nä-ēv') or na·if or na·ïf (nä-ēf')
adj.

Lacking worldliness and sophistication.
Simple and credulous as a child.
Not previously subjected to experiments.
Not having previously taken or received a particular drug.

n.
One who is artless, credulous, or uncritical.

naive
Untutored in the perversities of some particular program or system; one who still tries to do things in an intuitive way, rather than the right way (in really good designs these coincide, but most designs aren't "really good" in the appropriate sense). This trait is completely unrelated to general maturity or competence or even competence at any other specific program. It is a sad commentary on the primitive state of computing that the natural opposite of this term is often claimed to be "experienced user" but is really more like "cynical user".
(1994-11-29)

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