naive

naive

adjective

Definition of NAIVE

1

lacking in worldly wisdom or informed judgment <a first-time buyer who was so naive that he believed the salesman's spiel and paid good money for the rusty and broken-down car>

Synonyms aw-shucks, dewy, dewy-eyed, green, ingenuous, innocent, naïf (or naif), primitive, simple, simpleminded, uncritical, unknowing, unsophisticated, unsuspecting, unsuspicious, unwary, unworldly, wide-eyed

Related Words callow, childish, immature, inexperienced, raw; childlike, idealistic, impractical, unrealistic; believing, credulous, gullible (also gullable), susceptible, trustful, trusting, unguarded; beguiled, duped, gulled, tricked; careless, heedless, thoughtless

Near Antonyms critical, cynical, doubting, incredulous, skeptical, suspecting, suspicious, unconvinced; careful, cautious, guarded, leery (also leary), wary, watchful; down-to-earth, hardheaded, pragmatic (also pragmatical), realistic, sober; street-smart, streetwise

Antonyms cosmopolitan, experienced, knowing, sophisticated, worldly, worldly-wise

2

free from any intent to deceive or impress others <the young girl gave honest and naive answers to the social worker's probing questions>

Synonyms artless, genuine, honest, ingenuous, innocent, naive (or na{iuml}ve), natural, real, simple, sincere, true, unaffected, unpretending, unpretentious

Related Words childlike, dewy-eyed, gee-whiz, impressionable, inexperienced, malleable, persuadable, persuasible, simpleminded, unsophisticated, unworldly, wide-eyed; spontaneous, unforced, unstudied; candid, direct, frank, free, free-spoken, open, openhearted, plain, plainspoken, single-minded, straight, straightforward, unguarded; trustful, trusting; exploitable, gullible (also gullable), susceptible, unwary

Near Antonyms critical, cynical, mistrustful, skeptical, suspicious, wary; cosmopolitan, sophisticated, worldly, worldly-wise; civilized, cultivated, cultured, polished, refined; crooked, deceitful, deceptive, devious, double-dealing, hypocritical, manipulative, two-faced; arch, calculating, canny, crafty, cunning, designing, foxy, knavish, scheming, sharp, shifty, shrewd, slick, slippery, sly, subtle, tricky, underhanded, wily; flattering, mealymouthed, smooth, sycophantic, unctuous; feigned, forced, strained

Antonyms affected, artful, artificial, assuming, dishonest, dissembling, dissimulating, fake, false, guileful, insincere, phony (also phoney), pretentious

3

readily taken advantage of <we get piles of junk mail because you are naive enough to keep entering these dumb contests>

Synonyms dewy-eyed, exploitable, gullible (also gullable), naive (or na{iuml}ve), susceptible, trusting, unwary, wide-eyed

Related Words credulous, overcredulous, trustful, uncritical, unsuspecting, unsuspicious; artless, genuine, guileless, innocent, simple, unsophisticated, unworldly; fictile, malleable, pliable, pliant; deceivable; acquiescent, agreeable, amiable, obliging; yielding

Near Antonyms critical, cynical, mistrustful, skeptical, suspicious, wary; sophisticated; clear-eyed, clear-sighted, hardheaded; shrewd, street-smart, streetwise

Variants of NAIVE

naive or naïve