1
as in naive
lacking in worldly wisdom or informed judgment
a wide-eyed and trusting child
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in susceptible
readily taken advantage of
the sort of phony UFO "artifacts" that wide-eyed tourists fall for
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of wide-eyed
When those two go rogue, Ulysses enlists Gunderson’s misunderstood adult child, Alex (Jess McLeod), who’s like the wide-eyed kid to Odenkirk’s Shane, in this movie’s twisted-Western logic.
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Peter Debruge, Variety, 8 Sep. 2025
Anyier Anei is Ada, a newbie model from South Sudan by way of Kenya, wide-eyed and hungry as she’s tossed into a maelstrom of haughty men and clubgoing sisters in strutting.
—Richard Lawson, IndieWire, 7 Sep. 2025
Chang recalls being a wide-eyed freshman who was new to football and hoped to use his soccer background to help the Bears as a kicker.
—Steve Reaven, Chicago Tribune, 28 Aug. 2025
His description of Lopez earned some awkward laughs from the rest of the cast, Myers and Ortega included, while Sunday was wide-eyed and seemingly shocked by the answer.
—Julia Moore, People.com, 28 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for wide-eyed
Peter Debruge, Variety, 8 Sep. 2025
Anyier Anei is Ada, a newbie model from South Sudan by way of Kenya, wide-eyed and hungry as she’s tossed into a maelstrom of haughty men and clubgoing sisters in strutting.
—Richard Lawson, IndieWire, 7 Sep. 2025
Chang recalls being a wide-eyed freshman who was new to football and hoped to use his soccer background to help the Bears as a kicker.
—Steve Reaven, Chicago Tribune, 28 Aug. 2025
His description of Lopez earned some awkward laughs from the rest of the cast, Myers and Ortega included, while Sunday was wide-eyed and seemingly shocked by the answer.
—Julia Moore, People.com, 28 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for wide-eyed
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wide-eyed
Adjective
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By enjoying the exciting spectacle, their fans have willingly become mindless followers—idol worshippers who are too misguided, and naive, to see they’re being led toward their own destruction.—
Yvonne Kim,
The Atlantic,
12 Sep. 2025
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Speaking of burnout, that was the ultimate destination for the generation that came before, singed by their naive belief that adopting a neo-Stakhanovite approach to work and careers would pay off.—
Dave Smith,
Fortune,
11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The position of elementary education among the least susceptible to poverty might be surprising, but elementary school teachers are scarce and in demand.—
Erik Sherman,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
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Children and babies are more susceptible to lead toxicity due to their smaller body size, metabolism, and rapid growth.—
Toby Meyjes,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Someone's mispronunciation, for example, might have more do with innocent ignorance as opposed to a mistake worth correcting.—
David Oliver,
USA Today,
13 Sep. 2025
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The new location will allow Wiggam Law to support clients outside of downtown Atlanta and directly in Gwinnett County, offering legal services including audit defense, tax litigation, penalty abatement, innocent spouse relief and IRS collections representation.—
Kelly Phillips Erb,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Summarizing decades of comics history is no easy task but the team pulls it off well here.—
Rob Wieland,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
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Transforming Amazon into a startup-like environment isn’t an easy task.—
Annie Palmer,
CNBC,
17 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Clearly frustrated, Palencia gave up five runs and recorded zero outs during the ninth inning of that 6-3 loss to the Washington Nationals, a last-place team with a largely inexperienced and nondescript lineup.—
Patrick Mooney,
New York Times,
13 Sep. 2025
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Having won five straight Ryder Cups and 12 of the last 13, the American team entered as the heavy favorite despite fielding a relatively inexperienced squad.—
Tim Corlett,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Their simple plan goes awry when one of their relatives wants a posh Korean wedding banquet in the heartfelt romantic comedy.—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
13 Sep. 2025
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The inspiration The Copleys wanted a low-water garden that would be simple to care for.—
Caron Golden,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
13 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Rather than feeling triumphant at how believable ELIZA was, Weizenbaum was depressed by how gullible people seemed to be.—
Jeremy Kahn,
Fortune,
26 Aug. 2025
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Teenagers, despite our best efforts to educate them in open-minded ways, are gullible and therefore vulnerable.—
Eli Amdur,
Forbes.com,
11 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Wide-eyed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wide-eyed. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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