ingenuous
pronunciation
How to pronounce ingenuous in British English:
UK [ɪnˈdʒenjuəs]
How to pronounce ingenuous in American English:
US [ɪnˈdʒɛnjuəs]
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- Adjective:
- characterized by an inability to mask your feelings; not devious
- lacking in sophistication or worldliness
Word Origin
- ingenuous
- ingenuous: [16] Etymologically, ingenuous means ‘inborn’. English acquired it from Latin ingenuus, which was composed of the prefix inand the element *gen-, denoting ‘production, birth’. This was originally used for ‘born in a particular place, native, not foreign’, but it soon began to take on connotations of ‘freeborn, not a slave’, and hence ‘of noble birth’.Metaphorical transference to qualities thought characteristic of the nobility – uprightness, candour, straightforwardness, etc – soon followed, and that was the word’s semantic slant when English acquired it. By the 17th century, however, it had started to slide towards ‘artlessness, innocence’ (a sense reflected in ingénue, borrowed from French in the 19th century).=> gene, general, generate, genital, ingénue
- ingenuous (adj.)
- 1590s, "noble in nature," from Latin ingenuus "with the virtues of freeborn people, of noble character, frank, upright, candid," originally "native, freeborn," from in- "in" (see in- (2)) + gen-, root of gignere "beget, produce" (see genus). Sense of "artless, innocent" is 1670s, via evolution from "high-minded" to "honorably open, straightforward," to "innocently frank." Related: Ingenuously; ingenuousness.
Synonym
Example
- 1. His attitude towards the students is very ingenuous .
- 2. She is too ingenuous in believing what others say .
- 3. His mind is ingenious , but at the same time he 's also very ingenuous and genuine .
- 4. I find him rather ingenuous and charming .
- 5. Told by the ingenuous and largely unsuspecting maud , the narrative builds an impending sense of doom .