guileless

adjective

ˈgī(-ə)l-ləs How to pronounce guileless (audio)
Definition of guilelessnext
as in unaffected
free from any intent to deceive or impress others she was an easygoing, guileless young woman who was comfortable just being herself

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of guileless But perhaps the performance that lingers most in our minds is that of Elliot Page, 39, who in just a few short scenes anchors the film with his guileless sincerity and righteous anger. — Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 19 July 2026 But her star rose and that joyful, beautiful, rather guileless young woman trying to stay cool in a hot city summer lives forever. — Daniel D'addario, Variety, 1 June 2026 And yet the track that perhaps best represents Orange’s guileless spirit is the one tune here Presley didn’t write. — Stuart Berman, Pitchfork, 29 Apr. 2026 Five goals down at half-time, the Azerbaijani champions were hapless and guileless, incapable of delaying or deflecting Gordon’s acceleration and utterly without attacking merit until the game was yanked far beyond them. — George Caulkin, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for guileless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for guileless
  1. unaffected
  2. genuine
  3. honest
  4. innocent
  5. simple
  6. true
  7. naive
Adjective
  • Yet with the relentless Ukrainian drone strikes – including the biggest wave ever launched against the Moscow region as voting took place this weekend – the Kremlin has been at pains to reassure Russians that life goes on largely unaffected.
    — Matthew Chance, CNN Money, 22 Sep. 2026
  • Areas once largely unaffected are increasingly reporting infections, reflecting a gradual expansion of the virus across the country.
    — Giada Zampano, Los Angeles Times, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of unaffected
Adjective
  • And Steward’s emphasis on cultivating a genuine connection to his players fit naturally with the culture Chesney vowed to instill in Westwood.
    — Connor Dullinger, Los Angeles Times, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Companies have achieved genuine breakthroughs in locomotion, perception and manipulation.
    — Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of genuine
Adjective
  • Ask each business owner to absorb the run-rate at renewal, and the honest answer arrives faster than any dashboard.
    — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Each episode, the brutally honest Ramsay comes in to help the struggling restaurant fix its problems or its negative image, and in turn the restaurants get publicity from being on a national television show.
    — Katelyn Umholtz, Kansas City Star, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of honest
Adjective
  • For the sake of his reputation, anyone whose likeness appears in this book gets VETTED and pronounced innocent by DAVE.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Sep. 2026
  • That innocent childhood fantasy stands in stark contrast to today’s dangerous underground reality.
    — Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of innocent
Adjective
  • That single choice unleashes a harrowing chain of strange and terrifying events in the dead of night, turning a simple gesture of kindness into a real-life nightmare.
    — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Waffles and pimento Another enduring element of Chick-fil-A is its famously simple menu.
    — Amelia Lucas, CNBC, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of simple
Adjective
  • The court has already said that second half is Congress’ job, and the usual objection — that nobody could tell the difference — is about to stop being true.
    — John Mildenberger, STAT, 2 Oct. 2026
  • But back then, Carla was worth significantly more than Morgan; now, the inverse is true.
    — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of true
Adjective
  • Rebecca and Verity, which stars Johnson, are also about a new, naïve lover entering the home of a bad man with a wife hidden in his house of horrors.
    — Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Their 16-year-old had gone from being a naive gamer to converting to an extreme vision of Islam in a matter of months – and began judging the world through that dark prism.
    — Jeff Winter, CNN Money, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of naive

Browse Nearby Words

guilefulness
guileless
guilelessly
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Guileless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/guileless. Accessed 6 Oct. 2026.

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