variants
or naif
as in naive
lacking in worldly wisdom or informed judgment
the senator, newly elected and still naïf, will learn soon enough how Washington really works
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
variants
or naif
as in virgin
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of naïf
Meghan Cox Gurdon, WSJ, 21 Nov. 2023
Colorful naif pictures by Katie Hickey and text arranged in substantial chunks make this perfect for browsing by young readers with an interest in engineering or architecture.
—Meghan Cox Gurdon, WSJ, 12 Aug. 2022
Alison Herman, Variety, 27 Feb. 2025
Rogan, wearing his persona as a babe-in-the-woods naif, listened to this nonsense in slack-jawed stupefaction.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 12 Dec. 2024
Both stand in stark contrast to the naif played by Daniela Komędera, who enjoys any prompts for activities and appears glad to be relieved of any opportunity to have to think for herself.
—Stephen Saito, Variety, 20 Mar. 2025
David himself is a generic naif whose sole distinguishing trait is a passion for music, curiously sung in unsubtitled Hebrew while the spoken dialogue is in English.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 27 Feb. 2025
Rogan, wearing his persona as a babe-in-the-woods naif, listened to this nonsense in slack-jawed stupefaction.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 12 Dec. 2024
Farrow, presenting in the early scenes as an utter naif, discovers the pleasures of running cons; LuPone, who shows up a hellion, develops a sensitivity and nurturing spirit to the lost soul who’s provided her character a home.
—Daniel D'addario, Variety, 13 Sep. 2024
Angourie Rice plays our ostensible heroine Cady Heron as more of an earnest naif.
—Katie Walsh, Twin Cities, 11 Jan. 2024
Reasonable readers will arrive at varied opinions about the taste of all this—the facts are the facts, and the narrative pulses with empathy, but the tone at times resembles cosmic horror, as if Ehrenfest were a Lovecraftian naif driven mad after glimpsing an Elder God.
—Amy Brady, Scientific American, 1 Oct. 2023
Adjective
Most illustrators play up the coziness of the tale, what with children all snug in their beds dreaming of sugarplums and suchlike, but the friendly lines and marzipan colors of Ms. Beech’s naif illustrations take coziness to a new level.
—Meghan Cox Gurdon, WSJ, 21 Nov. 2023
Colorful naif pictures by Katie Hickey and text arranged in substantial chunks make this perfect for browsing by young readers with an interest in engineering or architecture.
—Meghan Cox Gurdon, WSJ, 12 Aug. 2022
Noun
David himself is a generic naif whose sole distinguishing trait is a passion for music, curiously sung in unsubtitled Hebrew while the spoken dialogue is in English.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 27 Feb. 2025
Rogan, wearing his persona as a babe-in-the-woods naif, listened to this nonsense in slack-jawed stupefaction.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 12 Dec. 2024
Both stand in stark contrast to the naif played by Daniela Komędera, who enjoys any prompts for activities and appears glad to be relieved of any opportunity to have to think for herself.
—Stephen Saito, Variety, 20 Mar. 2025
David himself is a generic naif whose sole distinguishing trait is a passion for music, curiously sung in unsubtitled Hebrew while the spoken dialogue is in English.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 27 Feb. 2025
Rogan, wearing his persona as a babe-in-the-woods naif, listened to this nonsense in slack-jawed stupefaction.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 12 Dec. 2024
Farrow, presenting in the early scenes as an utter naif, discovers the pleasures of running cons; LuPone, who shows up a hellion, develops a sensitivity and nurturing spirit to the lost soul who’s provided her character a home.
—Daniel D'addario, Variety, 13 Sep. 2024
Angourie Rice plays our ostensible heroine Cady Heron as more of an earnest naif.
—Katie Walsh, Twin Cities, 11 Jan. 2024
Reasonable readers will arrive at varied opinions about the taste of all this—the facts are the facts, and the narrative pulses with empathy, but the tone at times resembles cosmic horror, as if Ehrenfest were a Lovecraftian naif driven mad after glimpsing an Elder God.
—Amy Brady, Scientific American, 1 Oct. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for naïf
Adjective
-
Even a naive analysis, one that buys into some very obvious Republican budget tricks, finds that this bill cuts taxes and raises spending by $4 trillion over 10 years — but only pays for about $1.7 trillion of that.—
Ezra Klein,
Mercury News,
28 May 2025
-
In the film's early scenes, Cruise displays a naive, unwavering patriotism that seamlessly meshed with the actor's military heroics in Top Gun three years earlier — which makes Kovic's stark transition to impassioned anti-war advocacy all the more surprising in the runtime's second half.—
Wesley Stenzel,
EW.com,
24 May 2025
Noun
-
The funny thing is that most interpretations of Virgo have the virgin holding the ear in her right hand….Go figure.—
Mike Lynch,
Twin Cities,
18 May 2025
-
And, both classical and modern critics have pointed out that the original Hebrew of Isaiah 7:14, the prophecy that the Gospel writers cite to support their claim, makes reference not to a virgin, but literally to a young woman (almah).—
Jack Hanson,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Those bags protect the fruits from rats and green beetles, too.—
Nan Sterman,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 June 2025
-
Saunders brings up the summer of 2017 — the first green shoots of recovery following adoption of the EPPP.—
Liam Tharme,
New York Times,
7 June 2025
Noun
-
If its sympathies can’t help but tilt a little toward the colonized, the film still plays like a nightmare in which every escalation kills more innocents and every victory comes at a horrible cost.—
Keith Phipps,
Vulture,
22 Nov. 2024
-
After decades of lycanthropy, Sir John is no longer a reluctant killer and has stopped chaining himself up during the full moon, now gleefully slaughtering innocents without a care in the world.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
22 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
Monroe’s declaration, coming from a republic that had fought a war of independence from its own colonial power not yet 50 years prior, also expressed solidarity with the fledgling democracies of South America, which had also won independence from European control.—
Whitney Eulich,
Christian Science Monitor,
30 May 2025
-
Then, in 1967, he was recruited by Jeff Beck, formerly of the Yardbirds, to join the fledgling Jeff Beck Group as lead vocalist.—
Jordan Hoffman,
EW.com,
27 May 2025
Noun
-
Flecks of mica and pyrite and who knows what, but only fools and greenhorns mistake it for gold.—
John Archibald,
Southern Living,
25 May 2025
-
The indestructible Gill, still strolling the fairways of the magazine, was more than welcoming to a greenhorn.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
5 May 2025
Noun
-
The gang also stole 18 oxen, 30 pigs, and about 200 sheep and lambs.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
6 June 2025
-
While the human presence on the islands by the Chumash Indians dates back some 13,000 years, Santa Cruz provided grazing for both cattle and sheep in more recent history.—
Paul Bersebach,
Oc Register,
4 June 2025
Noun
-
This race, however, is a major step up in class for the young colt.—
Greg Rosenstein,
NBC news,
16 May 2025
-
Jamie Osborne Jockey: Saffie Osborne Morning line odds: 12-1 This colt ships in from the UAE, where he’s been since December, with English trainer Osborne.—
Teresa Genaro,
New York Times,
16 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Naïf.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/na%C3%AFf. Accessed 12 Jun. 2025.
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