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

• innocence
• naiveté
• naïveté
• sincerity
• naivete
• ignorance
• naiveness
• naturalness

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

White, who died in 2021 just shy of her 100th birthday, played a widow and mother of five, Rose, who was known for her naivety. —Melina Khan, USA Today, 5 Aug. 2025

And yet, the system continues to reduce people to diagnosis codes and protocol templates, often leaving naivety at the door. —Colleen Reilly, Forbes.com, 22 July 2025

In that way, Broken Voices is about the circumstances that allow abuse to happen; Vitek is like a vampire, a cold and distant creature capable of great charm, and Karolina, in all her disarming naivety, is easy prey. —Damon Wise, Deadline, 10 July 2025

There is a visible naivety to Onley after these big results, a sense of confusion over why the attention on him is so fierce, so quickly. —Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 25 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1708, in the meaning defined above