NAIVE Synonyms: 173 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: How is the word 'naive' different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of naive are artless , ingenuous , natural , and unsophisticated . While all these words mean "free from pretension or calculation," naive suggests lack of worldly wisdom often connoting credulousness and unchecked innocence. // politically naive

Q: When can 'artless' be used instead of 'naive'?

The meanings of artless and naive largely overlap; however, artless suggests a naturalness resulting from unawareness of the effect one is producing on others. // artless charm

Q: When is it sensible to use 'ingenuous' instead of 'naive'?

Although the words ingenuous and naive have much in common, ingenuous implies inability to disguise or conceal one's feelings or intentions. // the ingenuous enthusiasm of children

Q: When would 'natural' be a good substitute for 'naive'?

The synonyms natural and naive are sometimes interchangeable, but natural implies lacking artificiality and self-consciousness and having a spontaneousness suggesting the natural rather than the man-made world. // her unaffected, natural manner

Q: In what contexts can 'unsophisticated' take the place of 'naive'?

While in some cases nearly identical to naive , unsophisticated implies a lack of experience and training necessary for social ease and adroitness. // unsophisticated adolescents

naive

adjective

nä-ˈēv

variants or naïve

Definition of naive next

as in innocent

lacking in worldly wisdom or informed judgment a first-time buyer who was so naive that he believed the salesman's spiel and paid good money for the rusty and broken-down car

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in genuine

free from any intent to deceive or impress others the young girl gave honest and naive answers to the social worker's probing questions

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as in easy

readily taken advantage of we get piles of junk mail because you are naive enough to keep entering these dumb contests

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How is the word naive different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of naive are artless, ingenuous, natural, and unsophisticated. While all these words mean "free from pretension or calculation," naive suggests lack of worldly wisdom often connoting credulousness and unchecked innocence.

politically naive

When can artless be used instead of naive?

The meanings of artless and naive largely overlap; however, artless suggests a naturalness resulting from unawareness of the effect one is producing on others.

artless charm

When is it sensible to use ingenuous instead of naive?

Although the words ingenuous and naive have much in common, ingenuous implies inability to disguise or conceal one's feelings or intentions.

the ingenuous enthusiasm of children

When would natural be a good substitute for naive?

The synonyms natural and naive are sometimes interchangeable, but natural implies lacking artificiality and self-consciousness and having a spontaneousness suggesting the natural rather than the man-made world.

her unaffected, natural manner

In what contexts can unsophisticated take the place of naive?

While in some cases nearly identical to naive, unsophisticated implies a lack of experience and training necessary for social ease and adroitness.

unsophisticated adolescents

Examples Sentences

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Recent Examples of naive In a strategic move that broadens its therapeutic reach, the company acquired a licensed cord blood bank in September 2024, giving them access to naive cord blood – a rare and expensive raw material crucial for developing new treatments. —

Ethan Stone, USA TODAY, 7 Jan. 2025 Hardly any Russian citizen is naive enough to take these promises seriously. —

Yuval Noah Harari, WIRED, 3 Jan. 2025 The series stars Ella Purnell as Lucy, a naive Vault Dweller who leaves the relative safety of her Vault to go out into the wastelands to find her father. —

Erik Kain, Forbes, 1 Jan. 2025 Those artists whose work expressed what appeared to be an unexamined faith in art’s transcendent potential were seen as ideologically naive, insufficiently theorized, and dismissible. —

David A. Ross, Artforum, 1 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for naive

Recent Examples of Synonyms for naive

Adjective

They have been used before in crowded city centers in Europe to take innocent lives and spread fear.

— Michael Gfoeller And David H. Rundell, Newsweek, 16 Jan. 2025
What does that have to do with innocent bystander Zac Efron?

— Nick Caruso, TVLine, 16 Jan. 2025