ingenuous

1 of 3

adjective (1)

in·​gen·​u·​ous in-ˈjen-yə-wəs 

-yü-əs

1

a

: showing innocent or childlike simplicity and candidness

… her ingenuous thirst for experience …

—Christopher Rawson

b

: lacking craft or subtlety

ingenuous in their brutality

2

obsolete : noble, honorable

ingenuously adverb

ingenuousness noun

ingenuous

2 of 3

adjective (2)

obsolete

: ingenious

ingenuousness

3 of 3

noun

in·​gen·​u·​ous·​ness

plural -es

: the quality of being ingenuous : absence of guile, reserve, or disguise : candor, simplicity

his airs of importance were comical in their ingenuousness

—Arnold Bennett

Did you know?

Ingenuous is most often used to describe someone who has a childlike innocence and openness. It should not be confused with ingenious, which typically describes someone who is unusually inventive or clever, or something made or done in an especially original or clever way. The words look very much alike, but sound different: remember that ingenuous sounds like its linguistic relation genuine, while ingenious sounds like genius—despite the fact that there is no etymological connection between those two. For more on this pair, read on.

Synonyms of ingenuous

Adjective (1)

• genuine
• unaffected
• honest
• simple
• innocent
• true
• naive
• guileless
• sincere

Choose the Right Synonym for ingenuous

natural, ingenuous, naive, unsophisticated, artless mean free from pretension or calculation.

natural implies lacking artificiality and self-consciousness and having a spontaneousness suggesting the natural rather than the man-made world.

her unaffected, natural manner

ingenuous implies inability to disguise or conceal one's feelings or intentions.

the ingenuous enthusiasm of children

naive suggests lack of worldly wisdom often connoting credulousness and unchecked innocence.

politically naive

unsophisticated implies a lack of experience and training necessary for social ease and adroitness.

unsophisticated adolescents

artless suggests a naturalness resulting from unawareness of the effect one is producing on others.

artless charm

Examples of ingenuous in a Sentence

Adjective (1)

photographs that capture the ingenuous smiles of young children at play

the story of an ingenuous newcomer to the big city who outwits the slickers at their own game

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Modern Love used a photo of David Bowie in a long dress as his profile picture, and so the ingenuous, myopic Floyd expects a woman. —Alexandra Schwartz, New Yorker, 24 Apr. 2026

Unbeknownst to her parents, the sweetly ingenuous Katie has made friends with the generously candy-dispensing family next door, and is abducted one afternoon in the midst of a sweeping windstorm — a standout setpiece, awash in roiled dust and rising panic. —Guy Lodge, Variety, 16 Apr. 2026

Ross, meanwhile, exudes suspiciously ingenuous charisma as the heavily accented voice coming out of Meek’s Speak & Spell. —Sara Holdren, Vulture, 11 Mar. 2026

The former spouses co-parent an ingenuous teen, Carmelo (Jalyn Hall). —Judy Berman, Time, 20 Feb. 2026

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

Word History

Etymology

Adjective (1)

Latin ingenuus native, freeborn, from in- + gignere to beget — more at kin

Adjective (2)

by alteration

First Known Use

Adjective (1)

1588, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Adjective (2)

1588, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for ingenuous

• disingenuous
• strenuous

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Kids Definition

ingenuous

adjective

in·​gen·​u·​ous

in-ˈjen-yə-wəs

: showing innocent or childlike simplicity and straightforwardness

ingenuously adverb

ingenuousness noun