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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variants
or naif
as in virgin
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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
Alison Herman, Variety, 27 Feb. 2025
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
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
David himself is a generic naif whose sole distinguishing trait is a passion for music, curiously sung in unsubtitled Hebrew while the spoken dialogue is in English.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 27 Feb. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for naïf
Adjective
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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
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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
Noun
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An olive oil that does not have defects and a free acidity level of less than 0.8 is considered extra virgin.—
Patty Weasler, RN, BSN,
Verywell Health,
26 Feb. 2025
-
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
Adjective
-
Why Sage Green Should Be Considered a Neutral Sage green can—and should be—viewed as a neutral, according to designer Lisa Morton.—
Lauren Jones,
Southern Living,
15 Mar. 2025
-
The color scheme is rare for innies to see since their world typically features blue and green shades.—
Abigail Lee,
Variety,
15 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
According to human rights organizations, most were denied due process, innocents including children were detained, and hundreds were tortured in jail and died.—
Tracy Wilkinson,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Dec. 2024
-
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
Noun
-
From defining its purpose to assembling a team, building infrastructure, and scaling operations, a family office in its infancy shares much in common with a fledgling tech company.—
Francois Botha,
Forbes,
9 Mar. 2025
-
Some high-profile supporters have lined up behind the fledgling nonprofit.—
Kenneth R. Gosselin,
Hartford Courant,
9 Mar. 2025
Noun
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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
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Manderley Farm is idyllic, with its picturesque rolling hills filled with sheep.—
Lois Alter Mark,
Forbes,
12 Mar. 2025
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Alex's owner's TikTok channel is filled with sweet videos of baby lambs out in the fields, as well as older sheep and rams being shown at championships and shows.—
William Lambers,
Newsweek,
7 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Also, #2 Sovereignty (3/1) for trainer Bill Mott is another Into Mischief colt coming off a layoff having faced progressively tougher competition while holding an advantage of having already raced 2-turns.—
Jay Ginsbach,
Forbes,
1 Mar. 2025
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The colt is such a prohibitive favorite among the field of nine the race is declared a non-wagering contest.—
Houston Mitchell,
Los Angeles Times,
3 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Naïf.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/na%C3%AFf. Accessed 26 Mar. 2025.
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