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Synonym Chooser

How is the word ingenuous different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of ingenuous are artless, naive, natural, and unsophisticated. While all these words mean "free from pretension or calculation," ingenuous implies inability to disguise or conceal one's feelings or intentions.

the ingenuous enthusiasm of children

When could artless be used to replace ingenuous?

In some situations, the words artless and ingenuous are roughly equivalent. However, artless suggests a naturalness resulting from unawareness of the effect one is producing on others.

artless charm

When is naive a more appropriate choice than ingenuous?

Although the words naive and ingenuous have much in common, naive suggests lack of worldly wisdom often connoting credulousness and unchecked innocence.

politically naive

When can natural be used instead of ingenuous?

The meanings of natural and ingenuous largely overlap; however, natural implies lacking artificiality and self-consciousness and having a spontaneousness suggesting the natural rather than the man-made world.

her unaffected, natural manner

When would unsophisticated be a good substitute for ingenuous?

While in some cases nearly identical to ingenuous, unsophisticated implies a lack of experience and training necessary for social ease and adroitness.

unsophisticated adolescents

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 ingenuous Diller soon struck a deal with Rupert Murdoch—then posing as an ingenuous newcomer to America—to buy Fox and merge it with Metromedia, a group of television stations owned by John Kluge. Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 19 May 2025 By the water’s edge, her insecure 25-year-old son, Konstantin (Kodi Smit-McPhee), is mounting a post-apocalyptic play in which his enduring love, ingenuous country girl Nina (Emma Corrin), can act. Hayley Maitland, Vogue, 12 Feb. 2025 By the water’s edge, her insecure 25-year-old son, Konstantin (Kodi Smit-McPhee), is mounting a post-apocalyptic play in which his enduring love, ingenuous country girl Nina (Emma Corrin), can act. Hayley Maitland, Vogue, 12 Feb. 2025 There’s something soft about the play, a little ingenuous and underbrewed. Sara Holdren, Vulture, 16 Apr. 2024 Jennifer Johnson Cano’s mezzo-soprano was smoothly plangent as Emilia; the tenor Pene Pati was a sweetly ingenuous Cassio. New York Times, 22 May 2022 Heathcliff, of course, is the prime example, growing from an ingenuous child into a glowering adult who spins all the considerable evil ever done to him — much of it based on race and class — into justification for his long game of retribution. Laura Collins-Hughes, New York Times, 18 Oct. 2022 His greatest hope for the future, Meghan is a high school senior at a horsy boarding school in the Washington area and possibly the most ingenuous girl since Alice in Wonderland. Ron Charles, Washington Post, 13 Sep. 2022 Colman has become a go-to actor for masking pained personal histories behind either brittle snappishness or bluff affability; Reid’s ingenuous, old-soul charm is a winning foil for that defensive quality. Guy Lodge, Variety, 28 July 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ingenuous
Adjective
  • Coach Wall was a remarkable individual whose kindness and genuine spirit touched all who knew him.
    Sean Krofssik, Hartford Courant, 23 June 2025
  • Today's audiences—both Hispanic and non-Hispanic—are savvy, diverse, and crave genuine representation and storytelling.
    Isaac Mizrahi, Forbes.com, 23 June 2025
Adjective
  • Modern takes on the tankini and boy short offer nostalgia without being too naive and are also seen from Candice Swaenpoel’s Topic of C line or Hunza G’s colorful styles.
    Emily Mercer, Footwear News, 27 June 2025
  • Yet such arguments are either geopolitically naive or disingenuous.
    Charles Kupchan, Foreign Affairs, 20 June 2025
Adjective
  • Both WestJet and Hawaiian Airlines said their operations were unaffected by the hacks.
    Sean Lyngaas, CNN Money, 28 June 2025
  • Russian Security Council deputy chairman of Dmitry Medvedev also said Iran's critical nuclear infrastructure appeared to be unaffected or to have sustained only minor damage.
    Francesca Chambers, USA Today, 23 June 2025
Adjective
  • On July 8, U.S. soldiers escorting a train fired at crowds in Hammond, killing an innocent bystander.
    Robert Loerzel, Chicago Tribune, 22 June 2025
  • Night in West Texas is a probing look at the cracks in the American justice system and how one innocent man so easily slipped through them.
    Matthew Carey, Deadline, 21 June 2025
Adjective
  • Ananda Lewis’ voice cut through silence like light through mist—bold, unwavering, and luminously honest.
    Essence, Essence, 23 June 2025
  • What is your secret to remaining an innovator in your field? To be honest, I get inspired.
    Nigel Smith, People.com, 23 June 2025
Adjective
  • The simplest ideas in mathematics can also be the most perplexing.
    Leila Sloman, Wired News, 29 June 2025
  • And given that toppers were developed specifically as a lighter, simpler alternative to full-bodied campers, designed to fit within limited midsize truck payloads, that extra beef is a definite problem for some shoppers.
    New Atlas, New Atlas, 28 June 2025
Adjective
  • What’s the difference between something being emotionally true and factually true, and what should be valued more?
    Lexy Perez, HollywoodReporter, 1 July 2025
  • Be open to what needs to be dismantled in order to build something stronger and more aligned with your true path in the future.
    Meghan Rose, Glamour, 1 July 2025
Adjective
  • His career hamstrung by bipolar disorder and stints in psychiatric hospitals, Johnston first found acclaim as an unguarded and guileless songwriter in the late ’80s with tunes that cut instantly to the emotional quick.
    Grayson Haver Currin Eli Durst, New York Times, 1 May 2025
  • Yet in Allerton’s presence, Lee becomes a charmer who seems as guileless as a stammering schoolboy.
    Stephanie Zacharek, TIME, 13 Dec. 2024

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Cite this Entry

“Ingenuous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ingenuous. Accessed 6 Jul. 2025.

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