naive

na·ive | \ nä-ˈēv

, nī-\

variants: or naïve

naiver; naivest

Definition of naive

1 : marked by unaffected simplicity : artless, ingenuous the experienced man speaks simply and wisely to the naive girl— Gilbert Highet

2a : 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

3a : self-taught, primitive

b : produced by or as if by a self-taught artist naive murals

Other Words from naive Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More about naive

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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 Tattooing seems to exert a priming effect: That’s what biologists call it when naive immune cells are exposed to their specific antigen and differentiate into antibodies that remain in the bloodstream for many years. — Christopher D. Lynn, The Conversation, "Untangling tattoos’ influence on immune response," 2 Oct. 2019 Scientists like Urnov and Crispr co-creator Jennifer Doudna now believe that the scientific community had perhaps been too complacent, too naive. — Megan Molteni, WIRED, "The World Health Organization Says No More Gene-Edited Babies," 30 July 2019 This is another costly fantasy detached from the real-world use case, engineered to plunder the pockets of the naive. — Dan Neil, WSJ, "Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S: More Car Than Anyone Could Ever Enjoy," 5 Dec. 2018 These are much better than the Trafalgar Square lions; those are naive. — Theresa Vargas, Washington Post, "Is a giant lion statue being stored under a D.C. tunnel? I decided to find out.," 31 Aug. 2019 The writer, who previously co-authored the Tiny Pretty Things series, distinctly captures a youthful and naive voice with astuteness woven in. — Caroline Tew, EW.com, "EW talks YA: One of our favorite teen tales of the year takes July's top spot," 2 Aug. 2019 PowPAC newcomer Eliza Huf as Elyot’s 20-years-younger bride Sybil is charming in the role, with Huf finding just the right mix of naive innocence and cunning. — Pomerado News, "REVIEW: PowPAC’s ‘Private Lives’ is full of comedy and action," 21 Aug. 2019 The women knew the risks and were not naive about making adult videos, Sadock said. — Pauline Repard, San Diego Union-Tribune, "Attorney: Women exposed on porn website suffered ‘living hell’," 20 Aug. 2019 The stage is covered in his signature faux-naive chalk drawings, like sketches by Picasso or Dubuffet. — Zachary Woolfe, New York Times, "Nearly 100, the Salzburg Festival Doesn’t Wait to Celebrate," 16 Aug. 2019

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.