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 The inarguable breakout star of the 2026 awards season was Chase Infiniti, whose starring role in One Battle After Another swiftly elevated her from Hollywood ingenue to budding A-lister. — José Criales-Unzueta, Vanity Fair, 5 May 2026 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 See All Example Sentences for ingenue
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ingenue
  1. angel
  2. innocent
  3. virgin
  4. fledgling
  5. greenhorn
Noun
  • Her fantastical Biblical scenes, of a graphic, storybook sensibility, sometimes showed angels, and Christ himself, as chalky white, and this rang in some Black critical circles as a sign of backwater unsophistication.
    — Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 5 Sep. 2026
  • Bream and Teller closed Anywears’ pre-seed round with angel investors within the private equity and finance sectors in January, with another round of funding slated for early 2027.
    — Kanika Talwar, Footwear News, 1 Sep. 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
  • The sleeveless virgin-wool dress had a close fit throughout, with a high cowl neckline.
    — Maggie Clancy, Footwear News, 20 Aug. 2026
  • 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
Definition of virgin
Noun
  • In July, when Eala went viral for her horizontal forehand against Świątek, Tiu’s father requested a poster for the fledgling star.
    — Rebecca Tauber, New York Times, 3 Sep. 2026
  • The fledglings of the bird, which is native to New Zealand, were bred this year.
    — Adela Suliman, NBC news, 1 Sep. 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 13 Sep. 2026.

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