ingenuously

UK: /ɪnˈdʒɛnjuəsli/

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

in•gen•u•ous /ɪnˈdʒɛnyuəs/   adj. 

1. apparently sincere and truthful:
   That crook had the ingenuous eyes of a young schoolboy.

in•gen•u•ous•ly, adv. 
in•gen•u•ous•ness, n. [uncountable] See -gen-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

in•gen•u•ous  (in jen′yo̅o̅ əs), adj. 

1. free from reserve, restraint, or dissimulation;
   candid;
   sincere.
2. artless;
   innocent;
   naive.
3. [Obs.] honorable or noble.

• Latin ingenuus native, free-born, honorable, frank, equivalent. to in- in-² + gen- (base of gignere; see ingenious) + -uus deverbal adjective, adjectival suffix; see -ous
• 1590–1600

in•gen′u•ous•ly, adv. 
in•gen′u•ous•ness, n. 
Synonyms

• 1. frank, straightforward, open.
• 2. guileless.

Usage

See ingenious.