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Synonym Chooser

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

Some common synonyms of naive are artless, ingenuous, natural, and unsophisticated. While all these words mean "free from pretension or calculation," naive suggests lack of worldly wisdom often connoting credulousness and unchecked innocence.

politically naive

When can artless be used instead of naive?

The meanings of artless and naive largely overlap; however, artless suggests a naturalness resulting from unawareness of the effect one is producing on others.

artless charm

When is it sensible to use ingenuous instead of naive?

Although the words ingenuous and naive have much in common, ingenuous implies inability to disguise or conceal one's feelings or intentions.

the ingenuous enthusiasm of children

When would natural be a good substitute for naive?

The synonyms natural and naive are sometimes interchangeable, but natural implies lacking artificiality and self-consciousness and having a spontaneousness suggesting the natural rather than the man-made world.

her unaffected, natural manner

In what contexts can unsophisticated take the place of naive?

While in some cases nearly identical to naive, 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 naive Of course, power corrupts, and the anime explores how that truth impacts our naive, over-confident antihero. Huntley Woods, EW.com, 9 Aug. 2025 And so the most naive way to do this is just to repeat the data a whole bunch of times. Quanta Magazine, 7 Aug. 2025 Pan excels at making the reader care about Cueball and Eddy, who start out as naive, harmless slackers. Oline H. Cogdill, Sun Sentinel, 7 Aug. 2025 His recording career had lurched to a sudden halt for four years in 1969, due to a manager who refused to let him out of the stifling contract Reid had signed as a naive teenager. George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for naive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for naive
Adjective
  • Instead, Paul reacts with a fury that all but blasts the roof off: walls are bashed in, furniture collapses, a window goes bye-bye, and some innocent goldfish lose their aquarium.
    Justin Chang, New Yorker, 22 Aug. 2025
  • If history is any guide, many innocent people will suffer before the incompetent grovelers and the vain objects of their groveling meet their inevitable fates.
    Robert B. Reich, Hartford Courant, 21 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • By avoiding these five common pitfalls, businesses can transform their customer data from a costly liability into a genuine competitive advantage that drives measurable growth and innovation.
    Bernard Marr, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2025
  • That’s not the start of a bad joke, but a genuine potential answer to this question.
    Jacob Whitehead, New York Times, 22 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Born Sheila Jeanette Dawson in Detroit in 1928, by her own account, Jordan did not have an easy childhood.
    Andrew Flanagan, Variety, 12 Aug. 2025
  • These were not easy years for anyone, and at my lowest moments I was buoyed by my Hermione Lee story and kept going.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 12 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Find two people, no more, who can be brutally honest with you, yet love you enough to speak gently.
    Pankaj Vasani, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2025
  • The point is to be honest with parents and the people tasked with running our schools about how the system is doing. Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.
    The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 22 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • But it was intended to be a simple, three-course meal, the documents showed.
    Chiara Eisner, NPR, 16 Aug. 2025
  • In North Carolina, Republicans are a few votes shy of a supermajority in one chamber but still control the redistricting process because the state’s congressional maps are not subject to veto and therefore can be passed by a simple majority in the legislature.
    Elena Shao, New York Times, 16 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • Whether that’s actually true or people just like to complain more 21 years after the original’s finale is certainly up for similar debate.
    Toni Fitzgerald, Forbes.com, 20 Aug. 2025
  • The same was true for the United States in both world wars.
    S. C. M. Paine, Foreign Affairs, 19 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • After last week’s tragic shooting in New York that left four people dead, the same ridiculous fiction is being sold to a gullible public that was trotted out after Sandy Hook, Las Vegas, Parkland, Buffalo and all the others: Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.
    Orlando Sentinel, The Orlando Sentinel, 6 Aug. 2025
  • The same ridiculous fiction is being sold to a gullible public that was trotted out after Sandy Hook, Las Vegas, Parkland, Buffalo and all the others: Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.
    New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 30 July 2025
Adjective
  • Police describe it as a brazen, unsophisticated robbery that occurred around 5:30 p.m. on June 18, targeting a jewelry store on the 5100 block of Mowry Avenue in Fremont.
    Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 7 Aug. 2025
  • Although the answer was reasonable for an unsophisticated seller, the listing agent should have required confirmation of licensing status with the Registrar of Contractors.
    Christopher A. Combs, AZCentral.com, 5 Aug. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Naive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/naive. Accessed 26 Aug. 2025.

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