naive

1 lacking in worldly wisdom or informed judgment a first-time buyer who was so naive that he believed the salesman's spiel and paid good money for the rusty and broken-down car Synonyms aw-shucks, dewy, dewy-eyed, green, ingenuous, innocent, naïf (or naif), primitive, simple, simpleminded, uncritical, unknowing, unsophisticated, unsuspecting, unsuspicious, unwary, unworldly, wide-eyed Related 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, thoughtless Near 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, streetwise Antonyms cosmopolitan, experienced, knowing, sophisticated, worldly, worldly-wise

2 free from any intent to deceive or impress others the young girl gave honest and naive answers to the social worker's probing questions Synonyms artless, genuine, honest, ingenuous, innocent, guileless (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

3 readily taken advantage of we get piles of junk mail because you are naive enough to keep entering these dumb contests Synonyms dewy-eyed, exploitable, gullible (also gullable), easy (or naïve), susceptible, trusting, unwary, wide-eyedRelated Words credulous, overcredulous, trustful, uncritical, unsuspecting, unsuspicious; artless, genuine, guileless, innocent, simple, unsophisticated, unworldly; fictile, malleable, pliable, pliant; deceivable; acquiescent, agreeable, amiable, obliging; yieldingNear Antonyms critical, cynical, mistrustful, skeptical, suspicious, wary; sophisticated; clear-eyed, clear-sighted, hardheaded; shrewd, street-smart, streetwise