1
as in genuine
free from any intent to deceive or impress others
photographs that capture the ingenuous smiles of young children at play
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in naive
lacking in worldly wisdom or informed judgment
the story of an ingenuous newcomer to the big city who outwits the slickers at their own game
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Recent Examples of ingenuous
By the water’s edge, her insecure 25-year-old son, Konstantin (Kodi Smit-McPhee), is mounting a post-apocalyptic play in which his enduring love, ingenuous country girl Nina (Emma Corrin), can act.
—
Hayley Maitland, Vogue, 12 Feb. 2025
The actors effortlessly entwine the droll and the ingenuous, but as Ulman juggles more characters and more plot angles than in her first movie, there isn’t necessarily more payoff.
—Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
There’s something soft about the play, a little ingenuous and underbrewed.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 16 Apr. 2024
And while some delusions of the self are less opportunistic and others feel more ingenuous, the tilt of reality to suit ourselves is nonetheless slippery.
—Megan O’Grady, New York Times, 12 Nov. 2020
All of this feels rather random, rather personal, rather ingenuous.
—New York Times, 5 Nov. 2021
Jennifer Johnson Cano’s mezzo-soprano was smoothly plangent as Emilia; the tenor Pene Pati was a sweetly ingenuous Cassio.
—New York Times, 22 May 2022
The underdog pick is Cousin Greg (Nicholas Braun), an ingenuous arriviste who, long-limbed and blunder-prone, provides much of the show’s comic relief.
—Naomi Fry, The New Yorker, 1 Nov. 2021
Heathcliff, of course, is the prime example, growing from an ingenuous child into a glowering adult who spins all the considerable evil ever done to him — much of it based on race and class — into justification for his long game of retribution.
—Laura Collins-Hughes, New York Times, 18 Oct. 2022
Hayley Maitland, Vogue, 12 Feb. 2025
The actors effortlessly entwine the droll and the ingenuous, but as Ulman juggles more characters and more plot angles than in her first movie, there isn’t necessarily more payoff.
—Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019
There’s something soft about the play, a little ingenuous and underbrewed.
—Sara Holdren, Vulture, 16 Apr. 2024
And while some delusions of the self are less opportunistic and others feel more ingenuous, the tilt of reality to suit ourselves is nonetheless slippery.
—Megan O’Grady, New York Times, 12 Nov. 2020
All of this feels rather random, rather personal, rather ingenuous.
—New York Times, 5 Nov. 2021
Jennifer Johnson Cano’s mezzo-soprano was smoothly plangent as Emilia; the tenor Pene Pati was a sweetly ingenuous Cassio.
—New York Times, 22 May 2022
The underdog pick is Cousin Greg (Nicholas Braun), an ingenuous arriviste who, long-limbed and blunder-prone, provides much of the show’s comic relief.
—Naomi Fry, The New Yorker, 1 Nov. 2021
Heathcliff, of course, is the prime example, growing from an ingenuous child into a glowering adult who spins all the considerable evil ever done to him — much of it based on race and class — into justification for his long game of retribution.
—Laura Collins-Hughes, New York Times, 18 Oct. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ingenuous
Adjective
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The Substack offers an unfiltered, genuine take on navigating the marketplace, from the highs of scoring a rare vintage gem to the lows of watching the dream item go out of stock.—
Gaby Keiderling,
Vogue,
19 Mar. 2025
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Leaders must cultivate new skills to recognize complexity, evaluate situations accurately, and respond with genuine agility rather than default behaviors.—
Dan Pontefract,
Forbes,
19 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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The actor plays Lochlan Ratliff, the naive son of Timothy and Victoria, who gets swept away in his family’s crazy antics.—
Lea Veloso,
StyleCaster,
16 Mar. 2025
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Nearly all parents experience something akin to his naive desire, a wish to give their kid the future of their dreams while shielding them from pain and disappointment.—
Ross Andersen,
The Atlantic,
16 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Students whose tests began no later than 8:36 a.m. with standard timing (2 hours and 24 minutes) would have completed their exams before the 11:00 a.m. cutoff and thus were unaffected.—
Scott White,
Forbes,
10 Mar. 2025
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Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that critical safety positions were unaffected.—
Ross Rosenfeld,
Newsweek,
26 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
In the final moments of last week’s episode, Hector Ayala, aka the hero White Tiger, was found innocent in his trial against the NYPD then shot and killed on the street by an unknown murderer.—
Jordan Moreau,
Variety,
19 Mar. 2025
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Man Who Killed Meredith Kercher, Amanda Knox's Roommate in Italy, Is Freed from Prison Still, despite being declared innocent and freed, Knox says she was never allowed to fully live her life again.—
Gillian Telling,
People.com,
19 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Olivia Culpo is getting honest about what happened during the first trimester of her pregnancy.—
Ingrid Vasquez,
People.com,
19 Mar. 2025
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Encourage candidates to ask questions and provide honest answers.—
Rebecca Skilbeck,
Forbes,
19 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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All of this is a vaguely long-winded way of making a simple point — the outlook for Wolves’ defence has changed dramatically over the course of this season.—
Steve Madeley,
The Athletic,
14 Mar. 2025
-
The reason for this is simple: Netanyahu not only presided over the worst security failure in Israel’s history but has actively governed against the will of the country’s majority.—
Yair Rosenberg,
The Atlantic,
13 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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For 40 years, most computer scientists assumed that Yao’s conjecture was true.—
Steve Nadis,
WIRED,
16 Mar. 2025
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So Far Yet, despite being the ideal role-playing game — one that should (theoretically) be easy enough to replicate — there’s never been a true sequel, spiritual successor, or flat-out copy that can live up to the standard.—
Hayes Madsen,
Rolling Stone,
16 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Mickey 17 is as guileless as Candide, while his successor is more aggressive and shifty-eyed.—
Tom Gliatto,
People.com,
7 Mar. 2025
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The older-younger generational divide emerges in an entirely different way in the latter episodes, with a growing riff between pragmatic (some would say selfish) Gen Xers and more idealistic and collectivist (some would say guileless) younger millennial and Gen Zers.—
James Hibberd,
The Hollywood Reporter,
4 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ingenuous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ingenuous. Accessed 23 Mar. 2025.
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