ingenuous

[US]/ɪnˈdʒenjuəs/
[UK]/ɪnˈdʒenjuəs/
Frequency: Very High

Translation

adj. innocent, straightforward, candid

Phrases & Collocations

an ingenuous smile

displaying ingenuous charm

an ingenuous question

Example Sentences

an ingenuous admission of responsibility.

an ingenuous beginner

Only the most ingenuous person would believe such a weak excuse!

She is too ingenuous in believing what others say.

to be ingenuous in expressing feelings

an ingenuous approach to problem-solving

to appreciate her ingenuous honesty

his ingenuous belief in the goodness of people

to have an ingenuous outlook on life

an ingenuous reaction to the news

Real-world Examples

I don't know why I asked for that. It was very ingenuous of me.

Source: The Moon and Sixpence (Condensed Version)

An ingenuous, transparent life was disclosed, as if the flow of her existence could be seen passing within her.

Source: Returning Home

George Tesman is really an ingenuous creature, Mrs. Hedda.

Source: Haida Gaobule

A nice enough fellow, in an ingenuous sort of way.

Source: The Woman at the Bottom of the Lake (Part 1)

He was, however, anticipated by the voice of the ingenuous and youthful Alice.

Source: The Last of the Mohicans (Chinese)

She was touched also by an ingenuous candour which gave a persuasive charm to his abruptness.

Source: Magician

Not pretty, but fresh and ingenuous with a mixture of shyness and pertness that I found amusing.

Source: Blade (Part Two)

Courtiers are not numerous when misfortunes are rife; but youth is gifted with ingenuous admiration and uncalculating fidelity.

Source: Lily of the Valley (Part 1)

Stephen the ingenuous boy, though now obliterated externally by Stephen the contriving man, returned to Knight's memory vividly that afternoon.

Source: A pair of blue eyes (Part 2)

Stephen had now arrived at the point in his ingenuous narrative where he left the vicarage because of her father's manner.

Source: A pair of blue eyes (Part 2)

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