naive

adjective na·ive \ nä-ˈēv , nī- \

variants: or naïve

Definition of naive

naiver; naivest

1 :marked by unaffected simplicity :artless, ingenuous

the experienced man speaks simply and wisely to the naive girl
—Gilbert Highet

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

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naively

or naïvely adverb

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naiveness

noun

See naive defined for English-language learners

See naive defined for kids

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 of naive from the Web

Cyber officials likely don't appreciate the implication their top leader is naive and slow-witted like Pooh.

— steven jiang, CNN, "Chinese internet censors crack down on ... Winnie the Pooh," 18 July 2017
Some of the most powerful people in the world made history altering decisions on the basis—at best—of exceedingly naive justifications.

— brian beutler, New Republic, "What Did Republicans Know About the Russia Scandal? America Deserves an Answer.," 13 July 2017
Too often in books and popular culture, poor country people are portrayed as either ugly redneck caricatures or naive, good-natured simpletons.

— dmitry samarov, Chicago Reader, "Seams from Scott McClanahan’s marriage," 12 July 2017
Except the person who is youthfully arrogant or naive or innocent.

— denise coffey, Courant Community, "Sibling Rivalry Handled With Truth, Humor And Brilliance," 29 June 2017
As Miranda, Michaela Farrell is endearingly open and naive.

— mike giuliano, Howard County Times, "'The Tempest' is outdoors but hopefully not overhead," 23 June 2017
Season 5, which returns Friday, opens with Litchfield in chaos following the death of Poussey Washington (Samira Wiley), who was killed amid a peaceful protest by Baxter Bayley (Alan Aisenberg), a naive, untrained guard.

— bethonie butler, chicagotribune.com, "Poignant moments are overshadowed by filler in new season of 'Orange Is the New Black'," 9 June 2017
In 2009 Seattle writer and hiker Linnea Westerlind set out with the naive goal of visiting every Seattle park in a year.

— seattle times staff, The Seattle Times, "Guidebook review: Discover Seattle through its parks," 7 June 2017
But the politically naive Qi does manage finally to get permission to create that new army, after discovering a mining village whose scrappy populace has had to fight to keep its gold.

— john defore, The Hollywood Reporter, "'God of War': Film Review," 2 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'naive.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of naive

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1654

See Words from the same year

naive Synonyms

Synonyms

aw-shucks, dewy, dewy-eyed, green, ingenuous, innocent, naïf (or naif), primitive, simple, simpleminded, uncritical, unknowing, unsophisticated, unsuspecting, unsuspicious, unwary, unworldly, wide-eyed

Antonyms

cosmopolitan, experienced, knowing, sophisticated, worldly, worldly-wise

Related Words

callow, childish, immature, inexperienced, raw; childlike, idealistic, impractical, unrealistic; believing, credulous, gullible (also gullable), susceptible, trustful, trusting, unguarded; beguiled, duped, gulled, tricked; careless, heedless, thoughtless

Near Antonyms

critical, cynical, doubting, incredulous, skeptical, suspecting, suspicious, unconvinced; careful, cautious, guarded, leery (also leary), wary, watchful; down-to-earth, hardheaded, pragmatic (also pragmatical), realistic, sober; street-smart, streetwise

Synonym Discussion of 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

NAIVE Defined for English Language Learners

naive

adjective

Definition of naive for English Language Learners

: having or showing a lack of experience or knowledge : innocent or simple

NAIVE Defined for Kids

naive

adjective na·ive

variants: or naïve \nä-ˈēv\

Definition of naive for Students

naiver; naivest

1 :showing lack of experience or knowledge

He asked a lot of naive questions.

2 :being simple and sincere

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naively

adverb

Word Root of naive

The Latin word nāscī, meaning “to be born,” and its form nātus give us the roots nat and nai. Words from the Latin nāscī have something to do with being born. When someone is native to a particular place, she or he was born there. A nation, or country, is a place where people are born. Anyone naive has a lack of knowledge and experience as if he or she was only recently born.