- ingenuous
- in|gen|u|ous [ ın`dʒenjuəs ] adjectivesomeone who is ingenuous believes everything that people tell them, especially because they have not had much experience of life
Usage of the words and phrases in modern English. 2013.
ingenuous
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Ingenuous — In*gen u*ous, a. [L. ingenuus inborn, innate, freeborn, noble, frank; pref. in in + the root of gignere to beget. See {Genius}, and cf. {Ingenious}.] 1. Of honorable extraction; freeborn; noble; as, ingenuous blood of birth. [1913 Webster] 2.… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
ingenuous — I adjective aboveboard, apertus, artless, blunt, candid, childlike, devoid of dissimulation, downright, forthright, frank, free from reserve, genuine, guileless, honest, honorable, inartificial, innocent, liber, naive, natural, open, outspoken,… … Law dictionary
ingenuous — 1590s, noble in nature, from L. ingenuus with the virtues of freeborn people, of noble character, frank, upright, candid, originally native, freeborn, from in in (see IN (Cf. in ) (2)) + gen , root of gignere beget, produce (see GENUS (Cf.… … Etymology dictionary
ingenuous — *natural, simple, naive, unsophisticated, artless Analogous words: open, *frank, candid, plain: transparent, *clear: *childlike, childish: *straightforward, aboveboard: *sin … New Dictionary of Synonyms
ingenuous — [adj] honest, trustful artless, candid, childlike, frank, green*, guileless, innocent, like a babe in the woods*, naive, natural, open, outspoken, plain, simple, sincere, square, straightforward, trusting, unaffected, unartful, unartificial,… … New thesaurus
ingenuous — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ innocent and unsuspecting. DERIVATIVES ingenuously adverb ingenuousness noun. ORIGIN originally in the sense «noble, generous»: from Latin ingenuus native, inborn … English terms dictionary
ingenuous — [in jen′yo͞o əs] adj. [L ingenuus, native, inborn, freeborn, noble, frank < ingignere, to engender < in , in + gignere, to produce: see GENUS] 1. Obs. of noble birth or nature 2. frank; open; candid 3. simple; artless; naive; without guile… … English World dictionary
ingenuous — ingenious, ingenuous These two words are distantly related and both have undergone a major shift in meaning. Ingenious came into English via French from a Latin source derived from ingenium ‘cleverness’; it originally meant ‘intellectual,… … Modern English usage
ingenuous — [[t]ɪnʤe̱njuəs[/t]] ADJ GRADED If you describe someone as ingenuous, you mean that they are innocent, trusting, and honest. [FORMAL] He seemed too ingenuous for a reporter... With ingenuous sincerity, he captivated his audience. Ant: disingenuous … English dictionary
ingenuous — I. adjective Etymology: by alteration Date: 1588 obsolete ingenious II. adjective Etymology: Latin ingenuus native, freeborn, from in + gignere to beget more at kin Date: 1588 1 … New Collegiate Dictionary
ingenuous — See ingenious, ingenuous, naïve … Dictionary of problem words and expressions
