1
as in genuine
free from any intent to deceive or impress others
photographs that capture the ingenuous smiles of young children at play
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in naive
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 & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in naturalness
the quality or state of being simple and sincere
his aw-shucks ingenuousness endeared him to his sophisticated new friends
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
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
Adjective
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
-
Section meetings are open to members, guests and anyone with a genuine interest in UFOs/UAPs.—
Deb Harvell,
Arkansas Online,
18 May 2025
-
For all the offseason acquisitions meant to bolster the rotation, starting pitching has become a genuine concern for Los Angeles.—
Sam Blum,
New York Times,
18 May 2025
Adjective
-
Don’t be naive and offer $500 for a premium domain name.—
AllBusiness,
Forbes.com,
13 May 2025
-
But that naive, first-generation Polish-American girl soon became a force to be reckoned with.—
Barbara Ellis,
Denver Post,
11 May 2025
Adjective
-
During the two-and-a-half years when one of the four tubes will be shut to train traffic, the current LIRR and Amtrak schedules — both of which were slightly reduced as of November in anticipation of the shutdown — should, in theory, be unaffected.—
Evan Simko-Bednarski,
New York Daily News,
22 May 2025
-
In addition, although students with high SAT scores were largely unaffected by course shutouts, students with low SAT scores experienced more negative effects, particularly a lower likelihood of declaring a STEM major.—
Michael T. Nietzel,
Forbes.com,
20 May 2025
Adjective
-
These rapid deportations mean some innocent people are being denied the chance to clear their name in a U.S. courtroom.—
Trevor Hughes,
USA Today,
19 May 2025
-
Seeing innocent people arrested for exercising their civil rights, sparked his desire to pursue a career in law.—
J.M. Banks,
Kansas City Star,
18 May 2025
Noun
-
The beginning of the finale reveals that the explosion originated in the laundry room, where Graham was trying to declare his innocence to Donnie and Crystal (Destiny Hernandez).—
Randall Colburn,
EW.com,
16 May 2025
-
Simpson, who maintained his innocence but was found liable for the deaths in a civil case, later served nine years in prison on unrelated charges.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
15 May 2025
Adjective
-
Comforting touch should be honest and clear – not ambiguous, not tentative and never assumed.—
Brian N. Chin,
The Conversation,
16 May 2025
-
The African American mom, who is married to Polish Canadian Peter Gerber, told Newsweek that their approach to parenting is honest and intentional.—
Daniella Gray,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 May 2025
Adjective
-
Trevon Williams, who did not escape from the New Orleans jail, was charged with 10 counts of being a principal to simple escape, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill announced on May 23.—
Jeanine Santucci,
USA Today,
25 May 2025
-
As artificial intelligence models grow increasingly sophisticated, their capabilities extend far beyond simple task execution.—
Cornelia C. Walther,
Forbes.com,
24 May 2025
Noun
-
So perhaps the clearest difference between the final months of O’Neil and the early months of Pereira has been simplicity.—
Steve Madeley,
New York Times,
19 May 2025
-
The simplicity of getting your feet wet with these tools means that most of your time will be spent dealing with a company's security and compliance teams.—
Jeff Catlin,
Forbes.com,
19 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ingenuous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ingenuous. Accessed 29 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share