na|ive

na|ive or na|ïve «nah EEV», adjective, noun.

–adj.

1. simple in nature; like a child; not sophisticated; artless: »

... this naïve simple creature, with his straightforward and friendly eyes so eager to believe appearances (Arnold Bennett).

SYNONYM(S): unaffected, natural, open, sincere.

2. not having or showing formal training or techniques in art; primitive: »

“The United States possesses the oldest, the most original, and just about the most authentic naive painters,” admitted Paris' Figaro Littéraire with an air of astonishment (Time).

3. not previously subjected to a test, experiment, or examination; unconditioned: »

The experiments just described have shown that fear of the dark, acquired by training, can be transferred to naïve animals by material extracted from the brain of trained donors (Nature).

–n.

a naive person: »

Compared with the other partygoers, he was a complete naive.

Also, naïf.

╂[< French naïve, feminine of naïf (originally) native, natural < Latin nātīvus. See etym. of doublet native. (Cf. ↑native)]

–na|ive´ly or

–na|ïve´ly, adverb.

–na|ive´ness or

–na|ïve´ness, noun.

Usage Naive, although originally the feminine form of the French adjective, is used in English without reference to gender: »

a naive girl, a naive boy.

The use of the masculine form naïf is now rare in English and somewhat affected.