ingenuous

adjective

Sayin-JEN-yoo-uhs/ɪnˈd͡ʒɛn.ju.əs/

Often confused with ingenious

5 meanings of ingenuous

1
adjective
Believing and trusting people easily, without thinking they might lie.
The ingenuous boy gave his lunch money to a stranger with a sad story.
Don't be so ingenuous. That email is a scam.
Similarnaive, trusting, gullible, credulous, unsuspecting
Oppositecynical, suspicious, worldly
2
adjective
Open and honest when you speak, not hiding anything.
She gave an ingenuous answer and told us exactly what happened.
I liked his ingenuous way of talking about his own faults.
Similarfrank, candid, open, honest, forthright
Oppositeevasive, disingenuous
Note
3
adjective
Acting in a simple way, like a young child.
He asked an ingenuous question about why the moon follows the car.
The little play had an ingenuous charm, like something a child might write.
Similarinnocent, childlike, artless, naive, guileless
Oppositesophisticated, artful, worldly
4
adjective
Not able to hide how you feel, so others can see it.
He is too ingenuous to keep a secret. You can see it on his face.
She was so ingenuous that she could not hide how hurt she felt.
Similartransparent, open
Oppositeguarded, inscrutable
5
adjective
Simple and clumsy, so that others can easily see what you are trying to do.
Her ingenuous plan to hide the broken vase under the sofa did not work.
The kid made an ingenuous excuse that nobody believed.
Similarclumsy, transparent, naive, unsubtle
Oppositesubtle, sophisticated
Note

Practice

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Origin

From a Latin word meaning "noble" or "frank".