ingenuous

adjective

Sayin-JEN-yoo-uhs/ɪnˈd͡ʒɛn.ju.əs/

Often confused with ingenious

5 meanings of ingenuous

1
adjective
Naive and trusting, inclined to believe what other people say.
The ingenuous newcomer handed his savings to the first broker who promised to double them.
She was ingenuous enough to believe the landlord would fix the heating by Friday.
Similarnaive, trusting, gullible, credulous, unsuspecting
Oppositecynical, suspicious, worldly
2
adjective
Speaking or acting openly and frankly, with nothing held back.
He gave an ingenuous account of his mistakes, leaving nothing out.
Her ingenuous answers won over a committee tired of polished evasions.
Similarfrank, candid, open, honest, forthright
Oppositeevasive, disingenuous
Note
The meaning closest to the Latin source, ingenuus, "of noble character, frank", and the one where ingenuous is praise rather than pity: ingenuous truthfulness is honesty offered freely. Context decides which way the word leans, because the naive meaning reads the same openness as a sign that someone is easily fooled.
3
adjective
Showing the simplicity of a child in what one does or says.
It was ingenuous of me to ask the magician whether his rabbit was real.
The drawings had an ingenuous charm that no trained artist could copy.
Similarinnocent, childlike, artless, naive, guileless
Oppositesophisticated, artful, worldly
4
adjective
Unable to hide one's feelings, so that they show plainly.
Too ingenuous to play poker, he grinned every time he drew a good card.
Her ingenuous face showed her disappointment before she could say a word.
Similartransparent, open
Oppositeguarded, inscrutable
5
adjective
Lacking sophistication; clumsy or obvious, especially of an attempt or effort.
His ingenuous attempt to change the subject fooled no one at the table.
The campaign's ingenuous efforts to look youthful only made the senator seem older.
Similarclumsy, transparent, naive, unsubtle
Oppositesubtle, sophisticated
Note
Here the word judges a plan more than a person, and it nearly always sits in front of attempt or effort: ingenuous attempts to lie one's way out of trouble, a well-intended but ingenuous effort. The pairing with well-intended is typical, because the criticism is of skill, not of motive. What it describes is too transparent to work.

Practice

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Origin

A learned borrowing from Latin ingenuus ("of noble character, frank"); a doublet of ingenu.