naive

adjective

na·​ive nä-ˈēv 

nī-

variants or naïve

naiver; naivest

1

: marked by unaffected simplicity : artless, ingenuous

"Coat!" said Russelton, with an appearance of the most naive surprise …; "coat, Sir Willoughby! do you call this thing a coat?"

—Edward Bulwer-Lytton

2

a

: deficient in worldly wisdom or informed judgment

their naive ignorance of life … when they were first married

—Arnold Bennett

especially : credulous

… tells tall tales of the West to tweak naïve city slickers.

—Miriam Horn

b

: not previously subjected to experimentation or a particular experimental situation

made the test with naive rats

also : not having previously used a particular drug (such as marijuana)

c

: not having been exposed previously to an antigen

naive T cells

3

a

: self-taught, primitive

b

: produced by or as if by a self-taught artist

naive murals

naively adverb

or naïvely

naiveness noun

Synonyms

• innocent
• inexperienced
• simple
• unsophisticated
• immature
• ingenuous

Choose the Right Synonym for naive

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 naive in a Sentence

Secularism requires a commitment to civil liberty, which rests partly on respect for civil disobedience—peaceful acts of conscience that challenge rules of law. If civil libertarianism is naïve, then so is the hope of secular government. —Wendy Kaminer, Free Inquiry, December 2008/January 2009

He exhibits a naïve sort of confidence when talking about the doubts surrounding him and the perceived slights in the draft run-up. —Peter King, Sports Illustrated, 1 May 2006

His crimes were described as mere bumps in the road, minor offenses committed by a man-boy described as innocent, naïve, trusting, a simple country boy who got lost in airports and was astonished to find out that he could order a pizza over the phone. —Pat Jordan, Harper's, October 2004

a naive belief that all people are good

a naive view of the world

She asked a lot of naive questions.

I was young and naive at the time, and I didn't think anything bad could happen to me.

The plan seems a little naive.

If you're naive enough to believe him, you'll believe anyone.

Recent Examples on the Web

Cuomo has sought to cast Mamdani, a 34-year-old state assemblymember, as a naive candidate whose agenda would damage the city. —Jason Ma, Fortune, 27 Oct. 2025

But anyone imagining that this problem will be resolved by taking games beyond international borders is extremely naive. —Oliver Kay, New York Times, 23 Oct. 2025

Using her charm offensive, Hedda goads naive spouses to cheat, recovering alcoholics to drink and depressives to wander off into the darkness with a revolver. —Amy Nicholson, Twin Cities, 23 Oct. 2025

This naive setup gives the player a perfect excuse to push forward and get to New Vegas (the actual city that survived the nukes). —Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 19 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

French naïve, feminine of naïf, from Old French, inborn, natural, from Latin nativus native

First Known Use

1614, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for naive

• achieve
• believe
• conceive
• deceive
• perceive
• receive
• relieve
• reprieve
• retrieve
• breve
• cleave
• cleeve

Kids Definition

naive

adjective

na·​ive

variants or naïve

nä-ˈēv 

naiver; naivest

1

: marked by honest simplicity : artless

2

: showing lack of experience or knowledge : credulous

naively adverb

Etymology

from French naïve "having a natural simplicity and honesty," from early French naïf "being part of the nature of a person from birth, native, inborn," from Latin nativus "native," from natus, past participle of nasci "to be born" — related to native

Medical Definition

naive

adjective

na·​ive

variants or naïve

nä-ˈēv 

naiver; naivest

1

: not previously subjected to experimentation or a particular experimental situation

naive laboratory 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