variants
also naivete
or naiveté
1
as in innocence
the quality or state of being simple and sincere
her naïveté led her to leave her new car unlocked while she shopped at the mall
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in gullibility
readiness to believe the claims of others without sufficient evidence
though he was streetwise, the investigative reporter regularly assumed an air of naïveté when he was interviewing confidence men, charlatans, counterfeiters, and other assorted swindlers of the general public
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for naïveté
Noun
-
Watching your character confront Giuliano and attempt to profess her innocence once again was intense.—
Giana Levy,
Variety,
1 Oct. 2025 -
Comey declared his innocence in a social media post and welcomed a trial.—
Bart Jansen,
USA Today,
26 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
And in a world where time is money, conditions are ripe for a perfect storm of greed, deceit, and willful gullibility—all in the hope of getting ahead faster than the rest.—
Luis E. Romero,
Forbes.com,
27 Aug. 2025
-
Ignoring the problem of online gullibility felt irresponsible – even negligent.—
Sam Wineburg,
The Conversation,
26 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
The pieces serve as grounding tools, a nod to simplicity in design but layered with weighty symbolism.—
Essence,
Essence,
1 Oct. 2025
-
With its combination of simplicity, stability, and cost-efficiency, the kirigami parachute may soon find its place in both relief missions and advanced aerospace tests.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
But an interview with Trump on 60 Minutes also presents tremendous risk for a news organization that has already been the focus of the president’s ire and is now trying to maintain its credibility without provoking him again.—
Max Tani,
semafor.com,
2 Oct. 2025
-
Still, the results should add credibility to management's broader plan.—
Jeff Marks,
CNBC,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Like in One Battle After Another, DiCaprio played buffoonish and vaguely incompetent, but Scorsese doesn’t weaponize his ignorance for laughs.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
26 Sep. 2025
-
Also, don’t mistake your own ignorance & apathy as universal or admirable.—
Shania Russell,
Entertainment Weekly,
16 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Action movies have long strained the limits of credulity.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
3 July 2025
-
His credulity led to misadventures the details of which are so picayune that Chernow’s emphasis on them can be maddening.—
Graeme Wood,
The Atlantic,
9 May 2025
Noun
-
Yes, there is naivety to his play at times — that is inevitable for one so young, and was evident again when he was booked for a dive just before the interval.—
Anantaajith Raghuraman,
New York Times,
22 Sep. 2025
-
There’s less of a child-like sense of innocence and naivety.—
Abbey White,
HollywoodReporter,
17 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Gilbert’s colloquial style, once a source of great pleasure, has tipped into new territory—an ingenuousness that blends guru and disciple, mother and child.—
Jia Tolentino,
New Yorker,
25 Aug. 2025
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.
Cite this Entry
“Naïveté.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/na%C3%AFvet%C3%A9. Accessed 6 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share