ingenuous

9 synonyms and 4 antonyms for ingenuous, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.

Adjective — Innocent and trusting to the point of seeming naive, particularly about people's motives.

Synonyms

Everyday swaps

Common words most readers know — safe in any writing.

innocent frank open

Less common

Still standard English, but they carry more weight.

naive candid straightforward

Rare, literary or technical

Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.

artless unworldly guileless

Synonyms by Meaning

1. adjective

Innocent and trusting to the point of seeming naive, particularly about people's motives.

“It was ingenuous of him to hand over the deposit without a contract.”

naive artless unworldly guileless innocent

Opposites

disingenuous cynical guileful

2. adjective

Open and sincere, saying what you actually think without calculation.

“His answer was ingenuous, and all the more damaging for it.”

candid frank open straightforward

Opposites

disingenuous evasive

How to use ingenuous

The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.

ingenuous smile seemingly ingenuous ingenuous young man

Formal and literary; the negative form disingenuous is now heard far more often.

Etymology

From Latin ingenuus, meaning native-born or free-born, and hence noble or frank in character.

Full origin of ingenuous →

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between ingenuous and ingenious?

Ingenuous means innocent, trusting and unguarded. Ingenious means clever and inventive. They differ by one letter and are unrelated in meaning, so an ingenious plan is a smart one while an ingenuous plan barely makes sense as a phrase.

Is disingenuous the opposite of ingenuous?

Yes, and it is now far more common than the positive form. Disingenuous means pretending to be sincere or naive while actually knowing better, so it is not simply the absence of ingenuousness but a deliberate performance of it.

Is calling someone ingenuous a compliment?

It depends on the sense. Praising someone's ingenuous honesty is warm; calling them ingenuous about a business deal implies they were easily taken in.

People also searched

open frank innocent straightforward naive cynical candid artless disingenuous guileless unworldly evasive

Nearby words

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