ingenue
noun
Did you know?
Although Becky Sharp, the ambitious heroine of William Makepeace Thackeray's 1848 novel Vanity Fair, is not usually thought of as innocent or naive, the author used ingenue to describe her as having those qualities. Thackeray's use was attributive: "When attacked sometimes, Becky had a knack of adopting a demure ingenue air, under which she was most dangerous." The word ingenue typically refers to someone who is innocent to the ways of the world, so you probably won't be too surprised to learn that it shares an ancestor—Latin ingenuus—with ingenuous, a word meaning "showing innocent or childlike simplicity and candidness." More directly, our ingenue comes from French ingénue, the feminine form of ingénu, meaning "ingenuous."
Examples of ingenue in a Sentence
Glamour, 24 July 2025
Since her Hunger Games days, Lawrence has quietly evolved from Oscar-winning ingenue to Manhattan’s queen of elevated basics.
—Olivia Allen, Vogue, 9 July 2025
The sophisticated, ingenue hair was a far cry from the Pamela Anderson-esque hairdo Kardashian donned at Lauren Sánchez’s wedding on June 25.
—Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 9 July 2025
Goodness knows, with the help of costume designer Nanette Acosta, and whoever did her hair and makeup, Anderson transforms into something of a brainy, idealized 1940s Hollywood or Broadway ingenue.
—Michael Barnes, Austin American Statesman, 2 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for ingenue
Cite this Entry
“Ingenue.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ingenue. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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ingenue
noun
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