ingenuous

1 free from any intent to deceive or impress others photographs that capture the ingenuous smiles of young children at play Synonyms artless, genuine, honest, guileless, innocent, naive (or naïve), natural, real, simple, sincere, true, unaffected, unpretending, unpretentiousRelated Words childlike, dewy-eyed, gee-whiz, impressionable, inexperienced, malleable, persuadable, persuasible, simpleminded, unsophisticated, unworldly, wide-eyed; spontaneous, unforced, unstudied; candid, direct, frank, free, free-spoken, open, openhearted, plain, plainspoken, single-minded, straight, straightforward, unguarded; trustful, trusting; exploitable, gullible (also gullable), susceptible, unwaryNear Antonyms critical, cynical, mistrustful, skeptical, suspicious, wary; cosmopolitan, sophisticated, worldly, worldly-wise; civilized, cultivated, cultured, polished, refined; crooked, deceitful, deceptive, devious, double-dealing, hypocritical, manipulative, two-faced; arch, calculating, canny, crafty, cunning, designing, foxy, knavish, scheming, sharp, shifty, shrewd, slick, slippery, sly, subtle, tricky, underhanded, wily; flattering, mealymouthed, smooth, sycophantic, unctuous; feigned, forced, strainedAntonyms affected, artful, artificial, assuming, dishonest, dissembling, dissimulating, fake, false, guileful, insincere, phony (also phoney), pretentious

2 lacking in worldly wisdom or informed judgment the story of an ingenuous newcomer to the big city who outwits the slickers at their own game Synonyms aw-shucks, dewy, dewy-eyed, green, naive, innocent, naïf (or naif), primitive, simple, simpleminded, uncritical, unknowing, unsophisticated, unsuspecting, unsuspicious, unwary, unworldly, wide-eyedRelated Words callow, childish, immature, inexperienced, raw; childlike, idealistic, impractical, unrealistic; believing, credulous, gullible (also gullable), susceptible, trustful, trusting, unguarded; beguiled, duped, gulled, tricked; careless, heedless, thoughtlessNear Antonyms critical, cynical, doubting, incredulous, skeptical, suspecting, suspicious, unconvinced; careful, cautious, guarded, leery (also leary), wary, watchful; down-to-earth, hardheaded, pragmatic (also pragmatical), realistic, sober; street-smart, streetwiseAntonyms cosmopolitan, experienced, knowing, sophisticated, worldly, worldly-wise