ingenue

noun

variants or ingénue
Definition of ingenuenext
as in angel
an innocent girl or young woman In her latest film she plays the part of an ingenue.

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of ingenue In wrestling terms, Ghost plays the babyface ingenue to her more jaded collaborators’ heels. — Judy Berman, Time, 15 Apr. 2026 Zendaya reinvented herself from Disney Channel ingenue into bona fide superstar with her two-time Emmy-winning performance as teen drug addict Rue in seasons 1 and 2. — Brendan Le, PEOPLE, 8 Apr. 2026 At one point, the Phantom and Christine, the ingenue and the object of his obsession, glide toward you in a gondola, crossing an underground lake. — Tribune News Service, Baltimore Sun, 3 Mar. 2026 Seen on the likes of Pamela Anderson, Ariana Grande, and most recently, Vera Wang, the micro bang was first popularized in the 1950s by film ingenues like Audrey Hepburn. — Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 6 Nov. 2025 See All Example Sentences for ingenue
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ingenue
  1. angel
  2. innocent
  3. virgin
  4. fledgling
  5. greenhorn
Noun
  • Shannon basically complains so much that Jenn, a sweet baby angel straight from a Hallmark Christmas movie, offers to change rooms with her.
    — Brian Moylan, Vulture, 14 Aug. 2026
  • The angels, with the use of their wings, opened a rent in my eyelids.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of angel
Noun
  • On that terrible day, millions of Americans witnessed airplanes flying into buildings, people jumping off skyscrapers, and the Twin Towers collapsing with thousands of innocents inside.
    — Foreign Affairs, Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2026
  • The Night Court will not stand idly by while innocents are attacked.
    — Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of innocent
Noun
  • It was aged for about three decades in ex-bourbon barrels, and then finished in four different cask types for three to six years—virgin Japanese mizunara oak, American virgin oak, Oloroso sherry, and Pedro Ximénez sherry.
    — Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 24 July 2026
  • Erotic Teen Fan Fiction Movie By Morgan Lehmann A teen virgin writing erotic fiction online must collaborate with her school’s promiscuous quarterback when asked to write about her nonexistent love life for a publisher.
    — Matt Grobar, Deadline, 22 July 2026
Definition of virgin
Noun
  • In the more familiar galaxy far, far away, their friends Hera Syndulla, Ezra Bridger, Zeb Orrelios and Chopper must face the powerful Grand Admiral Thrawn and his sinister allies, who seek to plunge the fledgling New Republic into war.
    — Angeline Jane Bernabe, ABC News, 15 Aug. 2026
  • Ridinger recalls being just 18 when she was asked to speak publicly on behalf of their fledgling company.
    — Travis Cronin, PEOPLE, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of fledgling
Noun
  • Flecks of mica and pyrite and who knows what, but only fools and greenhorns mistake it for gold.
    — John Archibald, Southern Living, 11 June 2026
  • The indestructible Gill, still strolling the fairways of the magazine, was more than welcoming to a greenhorn.
    — Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 5 May 2025
Definition of greenhorn

Browse Nearby Words

ingeniousness
ingenue
ingenues
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Cite this Entry

“Ingenue.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ingenue. Accessed 20 Aug. 2026.

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