ingenuous
English · Thesaurus
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
ingenuous
- /ɪnˈd͡ʒɛn.ju.əs/ US
Where it comes from
Learned borrowing from Latin ingenuus (“of noble character, frank”). Doublet of ingenu.
adjective more ingenuous · most ingenuous
- Naive and trusting.
- Demonstrating childlike simplicity. "Do you mean to say you didn't leave your wife for another woman?" "Of course not." "On your word of honour?" I don't know why I asked for that. It was very ingenuous of me.
- Unsophisticated; clumsy or obvious. The apparent contradictions in his behaviour should therefore be discounted as ingenuous attempts to extricate himself from the consequences of an intellectual position which he once adopted but was never really his by intimate conviction.
- Unable to mask one's feelings.
- Straightforward, candid, open, frank. [H]is Grace’s Man at his club, in company doubtless with other Men of equal social rank, talks over his master’s character and affairs with the ingenuous truthfulness which befits gentlemen who are met together in confidence.
Opposite: disingenuous
Thesaurus
adjective
Opposite: disingenuous
Translations
Every language
adj naive and trusting
| Español | ingenuo |
|---|---|
| Português | ingénuo |
| Français | ingénu |
| Deutsch | arglos, freimütig, treuherzig, unverdorben, unbefangen, naiv |
| Română | ingenuu, inocent |
adj childlike, simple
| Français | ingénu |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | unbedarft, schlicht |
| Italiano | ingenuo |
| Română | ingenuu |
| Русский | бесхи́тростный besxítrostnyj |
adj straightforward, open
| Deutsch | offenherzig, freimütig, offen |
|---|
Talk about this word "ingenuous." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/ingenuous. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. ingenuous. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/ingenuous "ingenuous." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/ingenuous.Cite this
@misc{ingenuous_2026,
title = {ingenuous},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/ingenuous},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
