Definition of naive in English:

adjective

• 1(of a person or action) showing a lack of experience, wisdom, or judgement.

  ‘the rather naive young man had been totally misled’

  More example sentences

  • ‘His chronic lack of judgement and naive approach to the complexities of the society lead inevitably to tragedy.’
  • ‘He has been particularly criticized for lack of military experience and naive views of warfare.’
  • ‘They were naive with respect to the purpose of the experiment and none of them had participated in the previous experiment.’
  • ‘The authors are not naïve about the barriers to the process of experimentation and adoption.’
  • ‘I can't believe she's that naive and she's a nurse and she's an educated person.’
  • ‘I don't think that I was - I think I was more naive on that front than one would expect.’
  • ‘They were naive to believe they were immune from war's violence.’
  • ‘I'm not naive enough to think that the job of the press is to make the president look good or even to make the country look good.’
  • ‘Only a very naive observer would conclude that this is currently a party with the focus and energy to win another mandate, whoever its leader may be.’
  • ‘You always said that you were politically naive, that you were a non-political person.’
  • ‘I'm not naive enough to think everyone will think this one through like the engineer geek I am.’
  • ‘We are not naive about the many threats and dangers there are today to world peace and security, nor about the urgent need to do something about them.’
  • ‘When she does engage in critical analysis, the results are naive and limited.’
  • ‘Based on this rather naive childhood wish, I did a lot of research and finally got there.’
  • ‘I stand by my labeling of the answer as naïve, however.’
  • ‘An aware, as opposed to naive, romanticism never did anyone any harm.’
  • ‘Again, to be fair, in Bangalore he made a bold - some would say naive - attempt to redefine Britain's role in the world.’
  • ‘Investing in art is ideal for naive investors since it is risk-free.’
  • ‘He was naïve about this due to his inexperience.’
  • ‘This seems pretty naïve and naturally enough there's been no improvement.’

  1. 1.1(of a person) natural and unaffected; innocent.
     ‘Andy had a sweet, naive look when he smiled’
     More example sentences

     • ‘In the light of this, one might be inclined to say that she is naïve or innocent or foolhardy.’
     • ‘In many ways, Joseph was naïve and innocent in his thinking.’
     • ‘She was terribly naïve and innocent and I suspected that she did not know what it could mean when her best friend just decided to leave a group outing.’
     • ‘Despite her independence and academic brilliance, she is naive and unworldly and her choices are terrifying.’
     • ‘We miss out on the world because we are naive, ingénues who need to be taught everything.’
     • ‘Speaking with the naive innocence of childhood, he asks why mummy and daddy aren't married and on their honeymoon.’
     • ‘It is the most innocent and naive who find themselves entrapped.’
     • ‘Perhaps it was the shock that kept them hoping or maybe it was a naive innocence.’
     • ‘It's about being innocent and naive, much like Adam was in Paradise before the fall from grace.’
     • ‘Everything about them was dainty and feminine and naïve, innocent and pure, lovely and artless.’
     • ‘He's a benign aid worker with a naïve, innocent, sponge-like desire to learn about the world he's landed in.’
     • ‘You might think we are fools to be so naive, so innocent, so foolish.’
     • ‘She wasn't always as innocent and naive as she seemed.’
     • ‘For example, Daisy is always seen wearing white, which gives her and innocent naive appearance.’
     • ‘She's had a rough childhood and still managed to stay sweet, innocent and a little naive.’
     • ‘Maybe it wasn't a coincidence and you're not as innocent or naive as you try to act.’
     • ‘She was simply too innocent, too naive to understand the look he had when he looked at her.’
     • ‘She was blushing; her flushed face made her look innocent and naïve.’
     • ‘She had a naïve, innocent look about her as if she would believe anything a person told her.’
     • ‘He was kind of goofy and maybe even a little naïve, with an innocent smile on his face.’
     Synonyms

     innocent, unsophisticated, artless, ingenuous, inexperienced, guileless, unworldly, childlike, trusting, trustful, dewy-eyed, starry-eyed, wide-eyed, fond, simple, natural, unaffected, unpretentious

     View synonyms
  2. 1.2Of or denoting art produced in a style which deliberately rejects sophisticated artistic techniques and has a bold directness resembling a child's work, typically in bright colours with little or no perspective.
     More example sentences

     • ‘His style seems to represent a point halfway between naive art and Expressionism.’
     • ‘Like the sculpture, the images represent a very naive viewpoint in the art world.’
     • ‘The collection is striking in its combination of works from both the realms of art brut and naive art.’
     • ‘In such work his style was colourful and bizarre, sometimes with an almost naive quality of freshness.’
     • ‘When on the outside walls, they are of simple design in a more naive style.’
     • ‘He picks the naive approach and joyous colours and forms creating a montage of the flora, fauna and people of South Asia.’
     • ‘Admittedly, I did get the feeling that extended exposure to its naive style might weary me, but at first glance?’
     • ‘This campaign utilises unrelated fun visuals and a faux naive style, which makes it all the smarter.’
     • ‘Executed in the same flat, almost naïve style, the stylus emerges from the right hand side almost threateningly, bearing down on the record.’
     • ‘She presents characters, churches and landscapes in a naïve and nostalgic way, yet also flavoured with a bit of this kitsch.’
     • ‘Her designs which were both naive and decorative showed great purity of line.’
     • ‘A series of naïve pop images has been created using the phone's drawing application.’
     • ‘Such naïve art of the Vermicelli school is the very antithesis of this Art.’
     • ‘Not that all the art on display is naive; some of it is beautiful in its own right.’
     • ‘Linear simplicity, naive spontaneity, subtlety of tones and interesting techniques mark his abstracts.’
     • ‘Her paintings are exquisite, naïve and impressionistic, ghostly boats that drift across dripped canvases.’