Ingenuous is most often used to describe someone who has a childlike innocence and openness. It should not be confused with ingenious, which typically describes someone who is unusually …

INGENUOUS definition: free from reserve, restraint, or dissimulation; candid; sincere. See examples of ingenuous used in a sentence.

INGENUOUS definition: 1. honest, sincere, and trusting, sometimes in a way that seems silly: 2. honest, sincere, and…. Learn more.

ingenuous (ɪnˈdʒɛnjʊəs) adj 1. naive, artless, or innocent 2. candid; frank; straightforward

Definition of ingenuous adjective in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

If you describe someone as ingenuous, you mean that they are innocent, trusting, and honest.

ingenuous, adj. meanings, etymology, pronunciation and more in the Oxford English Dictionary

May 10, 2025 · ingenuous (comparative more ingenuous, superlative most ingenuous) Naive and trusting. "Do you mean to say you didn't leave your wife for another woman?" "Of course not." …

Straightforward or frank; candid: "I must be so ingenuous as to own that the accounts are not so certain as to the exact time and place of his birth" (Memoir of Martinus Scriblerus).

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025 in•gen•u•ous /ɪnˈdʒɛnyuəs/ adj. apparently sincere and truthful: That crook had the ingenuous eyes of a …