naivety

noun

na·​ive·​ty nä-ˈē-və-tē 

-ˈēv-tē, 

nī-

variants or less commonly naïvety

plural naiveties

chiefly British

: naïveté

If he compromised himself, then it was because of his political ignorance and naivety.

—The Times Literary Supplement (London)

Synonyms of naivety

• innocence
• naturalness
• simplicity
• naïveté
• sincerity
• ignorance

Examples of naivety in a Sentence

the contention that the royal family took advantage of the young Diana's naivety

Recent Examples on the Web

The age of the activists has drawn comments, even from government officials, that youth equates to naivety and ignorance. — ABC News, 6 Aug. 2026

In 2009, five members of Young The Giant named their band in honor of their own youth, naivety and potential overconfidence. — Sophie Lindberg, Kansas City Star, 31 July 2026

Spain played their own part, outstanding on the day, but for France, injuries, yellow cards, under-performance and tactical naivety conspired to produce one of the most underwhelming performances in recent World Cup memory by a tournament favourite. — Adam Crafton, New York Times, 16 July 2026

But Iraq’s inability to keep the margin of defeat narrow when that very well could be the tiebreaker for one of the top eight third-place spots showed a bit of naivety that could prove very damaging. — Ian Nicholas Quillen, Forbes.com, 18 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1708, in the meaning defined above