variants
or naif
as in naive
lacking in worldly wisdom or informed judgment
the senator, newly elected and still naïf, will learn soon enough how Washington really works
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
variants
or naif
as in virgin
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of naïf
Meghan Cox Gurdon, WSJ, 21 Nov. 2023
Colorful naif pictures by Katie Hickey and text arranged in substantial chunks make this perfect for browsing by young readers with an interest in engineering or architecture.
—Meghan Cox Gurdon, WSJ, 12 Aug. 2022
Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 12 Dec. 2024
Farrow, presenting in the early scenes as an utter naif, discovers the pleasures of running cons; LuPone, who shows up a hellion, develops a sensitivity and nurturing spirit to the lost soul who’s provided her character a home.
—Daniel D'addario, Variety, 13 Sep. 2024
Obama is neither an out-of-his-depth naif nor a reactive realist.
—Martin Indyk, Foreign Affairs, 20 Apr. 2012
Angourie Rice plays our ostensible heroine Cady Heron as more of an earnest naif.
—Katie Walsh, Twin Cities, 11 Jan. 2024
Reasonable readers will arrive at varied opinions about the taste of all this—the facts are the facts, and the narrative pulses with empathy, but the tone at times resembles cosmic horror, as if Ehrenfest were a Lovecraftian naif driven mad after glimpsing an Elder God.
—Amy Brady, Scientific American, 1 Oct. 2023
Sonny, the political naif, suddenly has mastered the procedures of the Texas House and turns them to his advantage.
—Shawna Seed, Dallas News, 12 Sep. 2023
Who says Merrick Garland is a political naif?
—The Editorial Board, WSJ, 11 Aug. 2022
With long hair and stubble, Fletcher is grungy and sweet, a seemingly free-spirited naif who also is, when the movie requires it, a font of Lone Star wisdom.
—Jim Kiest, San Antonio Express-News, 8 July 2021
Adjective
Most illustrators play up the coziness of the tale, what with children all snug in their beds dreaming of sugarplums and suchlike, but the friendly lines and marzipan colors of Ms. Beech’s naif illustrations take coziness to a new level.
—Meghan Cox Gurdon, WSJ, 21 Nov. 2023
Colorful naif pictures by Katie Hickey and text arranged in substantial chunks make this perfect for browsing by young readers with an interest in engineering or architecture.
—Meghan Cox Gurdon, WSJ, 12 Aug. 2022
Noun
Rogan, wearing his persona as a babe-in-the-woods naif, listened to this nonsense in slack-jawed stupefaction.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 12 Dec. 2024
Farrow, presenting in the early scenes as an utter naif, discovers the pleasures of running cons; LuPone, who shows up a hellion, develops a sensitivity and nurturing spirit to the lost soul who’s provided her character a home.
—Daniel D'addario, Variety, 13 Sep. 2024
Obama is neither an out-of-his-depth naif nor a reactive realist.
—Martin Indyk, Foreign Affairs, 20 Apr. 2012
Angourie Rice plays our ostensible heroine Cady Heron as more of an earnest naif.
—Katie Walsh, Twin Cities, 11 Jan. 2024
Reasonable readers will arrive at varied opinions about the taste of all this—the facts are the facts, and the narrative pulses with empathy, but the tone at times resembles cosmic horror, as if Ehrenfest were a Lovecraftian naif driven mad after glimpsing an Elder God.
—Amy Brady, Scientific American, 1 Oct. 2023
Sonny, the political naif, suddenly has mastered the procedures of the Texas House and turns them to his advantage.
—Shawna Seed, Dallas News, 12 Sep. 2023
Who says Merrick Garland is a political naif?
—The Editorial Board, WSJ, 11 Aug. 2022
With long hair and stubble, Fletcher is grungy and sweet, a seemingly free-spirited naif who also is, when the movie requires it, a font of Lone Star wisdom.
—Jim Kiest, San Antonio Express-News, 8 July 2021
Recent Examples of Synonyms for naïf
Adjective
-
From there sprung Brian, played by Lou Taylor Pucci, an alien who looks like a new-age guru in a tracksuit, and, depending on the scene, can be naive, manipulative, aloof, romantic, cruel and even self-pitying.—
William Earl,
Variety,
28 Jan. 2025
-
Things were exacerbated by naive decisions made by United players on both sides of the ball.—
Carl Anka,
The Athletic,
19 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
The emperor provided Xu Fu with ships and the 3,000 virgins that the magician claimed were essential to the quest.—
Joe Kloc,
New York Times,
18 Jan. 2025
-
Cooper is very sweet about Kacey’s virgin status, and their kiss is cute, too, nose and all!—
Christina Grace Tucker,
Vulture,
26 Dec. 2024
Adjective
-
Red is for load, black is for line, white is for neutral, green is for ground, and blue is for connecting to another switch in a three-way configuration.—
PCMAG,
PCMAG,
19 Feb. 2025
-
Prior to the November election, a majority of the City Council was pro-bollard, encouraging the use of plastic green ones along city roadways to separate bike lanes from vehicle traffic.—
Barbara Henry,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
18 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Al-Qaeda’s attack on Sept. 11, 2001, which murdered about 3,000 innocents of every race, background and socio-economic class, left him somewhere between agnostic and satisfied.—
Jeff Robbins,
Boston Herald,
14 Oct. 2024
-
As the creature prepares to attack the innocents, it is bound by a familiar orange magic as the Sorcerer Supreme Dr. Strange (voiced by Robin Atkin Downes) appears.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
Newsweek,
30 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
The Coyotes’ California Community College Athletic Association title added to the long and still-growing legacy of soccer in San Diego — a legacy that San Diego FC leadership hopes the fledgling organization can lead as the area’s highest-level team.—
Kyle Kensing,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
16 Feb. 2025
-
Migratory ibises have a survival rate of between two and three fledglings per female, which is almost three times that of some nonmigratory populations.—
Nick Paumgarten,
The New Yorker,
10 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
The author came to Canada from England in 1923 as a 23-year-old greenhorn.—
Anton Money,
Outdoor Life,
15 Aug. 2024
-
Hence the herring, every greenhorn’s rite of passage on the Wizard.—
Ashley Boucher,
EW.com,
11 June 2024
Noun
-
How about other livestock, such as swine, sheep, goats, and horses?—
Susanne Rust,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Feb. 2025
-
In recent years the federal government has chipped away at opportunities on federal land for caribou, moose, sheep, and bear hunters.—
Natalie Krebs,
Outdoor Life,
31 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Hot Springs horseman Ted Bowman owns Speed King, a Volatile colt, whose next race at Oaklawn has not been determined, Moquett said, in a second post-Southwest workout.—
Bob Wisener,
arkansasonline.com,
12 Feb. 2025
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The 5-year-old colt won his last two races after transferring to the Blacker barn with wins in the Santa Anita Sprint Championship and Breeders’ Cup Sprint.—
John Cherwa,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near naïf
Cite this Entry
“Naïf.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/na%C3%AFf. Accessed 22 Feb. 2025.
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