ingénu — meaning in English

English meaning

• ingenuous adjective Innocent and trusting to the point of seeming naive, particularly about people's motives.
• naive adj Lacking experience, judgement, or worldly knowledge; too trusting or simple in one's thinking.
• simpleton noun A person who lacks common sense or shows poor judgement; a foolish person.

Senses

ingénu is used for these senses in English:

• naive Lacking worldly experience, wisdom, or judgement; unsophisticated.
• simpleton (informal, pejorative) A simple-minded person lacking common sense.

ingenuous — full definition

1. adjective Innocent and trusting to the point of seeming naive, particularly about people's motives.
2. adjective Open and sincere, saying what you actually think without calculation.

naive — full definition

1. adj Lacking experience, judgement, or worldly knowledge; too trusting or simple in one's thinking.
2. noun A person who is naive; someone easily fooled.

Related French words