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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 There’s something soft about the play, a little ingenuous and underbrewed. Sara Holdren, Vulture, 16 Apr. 2024 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
  • Whether from tech, activism or athletics, the ideal candidate has genuine interest in the universe.
    Rhonda Richford, Footwear News, 30 Sep. 2025
  • Each project presented at MIA is picked with a genuine desire for these works to come to the fore, not by crass commercial considerations.
    Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 30 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Jane’s voice shifts from that of a naïve girl to that of a capable young woman as Laser traces her path out of the wilderness.
    AudioFile Magazine September 30, Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2025
  • His hesitation has been seen publicly as naïve and risky, eroding faith in the monarchy.
    Stephanie Nolasco , Ashley Papa, FOXNews.com, 30 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Stockholders will receive $210 per share, representing a 25 per cent premium on share price at market close on September 25 — the final unaffected trading day, before reports of a deal surfaced.
    Ali Rampling, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
  • Advertisement Fish seem unaffected as well.
    Matt Fuchs, Time, 29 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • As with all investigations leading to arrest, the subjects of the investigation are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
    Ryan Morik, FOXNews.com, 4 Oct. 2025
  • The new dating term 'Shrekking' sounds innocent.
    Charles Trepany, USA Today, 3 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • And one Group of 5 staffer was especially honest, politely declining to partake in the survey.
    Grace Raynor, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
  • Daniel Jones has been accurate and efficient, and Jonathan Taylor continues to be a workhorse in the backfield, breaking through tackles and keeping defenses honest.
    Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Sep. 2025
Adjective
  • Jared Jewelers Bulova Phantom Watch A watch is both practical and fashionable, and this style adds a touch of sparkle to simple outfits.
    Jacqueline Tempera, PEOPLE, 4 Oct. 2025
  • Each year, as the temperature rises, the town’s regular population of around 300 swells with thousands of kids soaking up the simple pleasures of the great outdoors.
    Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 4 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Watching my great-grandmother, grandmother, mother and aunt serve as loyal members of this sorority shaped my understanding of what true sisterhood and service look like.
    Essence, Essence, 3 Oct. 2025
  • With markets looking unperturbed, that might turn out true sooner if nothing serious comes in the way of the bulls.
    Yeo Boon Ping, CNBC, 3 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Federico Marchetti, the Italian fashion entrepreneur, is a master of sprezzatura—the courtier’s art of cloaking ambition and cunning in an air of guileless nonchalance.
    John Seabrook, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2025
  • But Meg Stalter is not so much clueless as compassionately guileless.
    Anna Peele, Rolling Stone, 10 July 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Ingenuous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ingenuous. Accessed 7 Oct. 2025.

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