naïf

UK: /naɪˈiːf/ US: (nä ēf′)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

na•ïf  (nä ēf′), n. 

1. a naive or inexperienced person.

adj. 

2. naive.

Also, na•if′. 

• Middle French; masculine of naïve

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

naïf / naɪˈiːf/ adjective , noun

1. a less common word for naive

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

na•ive or na•ïve /nɑˈiv/   adj. 

1. childlike and innocent.
2. showing a lack of experience, wisdom, or judgment;
   gullible.

na•ive•ly, adv. See -nat-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

na•ive  (nä ēv′), adj. 

1. having or showing unaffected simplicity of nature or absence of artificiality;
   unsophisticated;
   ingenuous.
2. having or showing a lack of experience, judgment, or information;
   credulous:
   She's so naive she believes everything she reads. He has a very naive attitude toward politics.
3. having or marked by a simple, unaffectedly direct style reflecting little or no formal training or technique:
   valuable naive 19th-century American portrait paintings.
4. not having previously been the subject of a scientific experiment, as an animal.

Also, na•ïve′. 

• Latin nātīvus native
• French, feminine of naïf, Old French naif natural, instinctive
• 1645–55

na•ive′ly, adv. 
na•ive′ness, n. 
Synonyms

• 1. simple, unaffected, unsuspecting, artless, guileless, candid, open, plain.

Antonyms

• 1. sophisticated, artful.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

naive, naïve / naɪˈiːv/naïf adjective

1. having or expressing innocence and credulity; ingenuous
2. lacking developed powers of analysis, reasoning, or criticism: a naive argument
3. another word for primitive5

noun

1. a person who is naive, esp in artistic style
   

Etymology: 17th Century: from French, feminine of naïf, from Old French naif native, spontaneous, from Latin nātīvus native, from nasci to be born

naˈively, naˈïvely, naˈïfly adverb

naˈiveness, naˈïveness, naˈïfness noun