14 results for: naive

(Browse Nearby Entries)

Naismith, James

NAISR

naissance

Naissant

NAISSO

NAIT

NAITA

NAITPD

NAITTE

NAIU

naive

naive art

naive realism

naive realist

naive user

Naively

naiveness

naives

Naivet'e

naiveté

naivetés

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

na·ive

Audio Help [nah-eev] Pronunciation Key

–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 (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
naive

To learn more about naive visit Britannica.com

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

na·ive or na·ïve Audio Help (nī-ēv', nä-) Pronunciation Key
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.

(Download Now or Buy the Book)

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
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.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

naive
adjective
1.	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" [ant: sophisticated]
2.	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" [syn: primitive]
3.	inexperienced
4.	lacking information or instruction; "lamentably unenlightened as to the laws" [syn: uninstructed]
5.	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" [syn: uninitiate]

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary (Beta Version) - Cite This Source - Share This
naïve, naive1 [naiˈiːv] adjective

simple and straightforward in one's way of thinking, speaking etc

Arabic:	ساذِج
Chinese (Simplified):	朴实的
Chinese (Traditional):	樸實的
Dutch:	naá‹áef
Estonian:	naiivne
French:	naïf
German:	naiv
Greek:	αφελής
Indonesian:	polos
Italian:	ingenuo

Japanese:	素朴な
Lithuanian:	paprastas, negudraujantis
Polish:	prostoduszny
Portuguese (Brazil):	singelo
Portuguese (Portugal):	cândido
Russian:	наивный, простодушный
Spanish:	cándido
Swedish:	naiv, naturlig, okonstlad
Turkish:	saf, bön, toy

naïve, naive2 [naiˈiːv] adjective

ignorantly simple

Arabic:	بَسيط وجاهِل
Chinese (Simplified):	幼稚的
Chinese (Traditional):	幼稚的
Dutch:	onnozel
Estonian:	naiivne
French:	ingénu
German:	naiv
Greek:	αγαθός, απλοϊκός
Indonesian:	bodoh
Italian:	semplice

Japanese:	単純で無知な
Lithuanian:	naivus
Polish:	naiwny
Portuguese (Brazil):	ingênuo
Portuguese (Portugal):	ingénuo
Russian:	простоватый, недалёкий
Spanish:	ingenuo
Swedish:	naiv, troskyldig, aningslös
Turkish:	naiv, basit ve hilesiz

American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

na·ive or na·ïve (nä-v) or na·if or na·ïf (nä-f)
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.

One who is artless, credulous, or uncritical.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

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 <made the test with naive rats>
2 : not having previously used a particular drug (as marijuana)
3 : not having been exposed previously to an antigen <a naive immune system> <naive T cells>

Free On-line Dictionary of Computing - Cite This Source - Share This

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)

Jargon File - Cite This Source - Share This

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

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Naive

Na"["i]f`\ (?; formerly ?), a. [F. na["i]f. See Na["i]ve.]

1. Having a true natural luster without being cut; -- applied by jewelers to a precious stone.

2. Na["i]ve; as, a na["i]f remark. --London Spectator.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

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 - Cite This Source - Share This

Naive

Na`["i]ve`t['e]"\, n. [F. See Na["i]ve, and cf. Nativity.] Native simplicity; unaffected plainness or ingenuousness; artlessness.

A story which pleases me by its na["i]vet['e] -- that is, by its unconscious ingenuousness. --De Quincey.

View results from: Dictionary | Thesaurus | Encyclopedia | All Reference | the Web