[
UK
/naɪˈiːv/
]
[ US /ˌnaɪˈiv/ ]
[ US /ˌnaɪˈiv/ ]
ADJECTIVE
-
lacking information or instruction
lamentably unenlightened as to the laws -
marked by or showing unaffected simplicity and lack of guile or worldly experience
this naive simple creature with wide friendly eyes so eager to believe appearances
the naive assumption that things can only get better
a teenager's naive ignorance of life - inexperienced
-
of or created by one without formal training; simple or naive in style
primitive art such as that by Grandma Moses is often colorful and striking -
not initiated; deficient in relevant experience
he took part in the experiment as a naive subject
it seemed a bizarre ceremony to uninitiated western eyes
How To Use naive In A Sentence
- A belief in it is not only not naïve; it is the essential precondition for civilized society, and our best defense against the arbitrary use of power.
- We don't easily imagine anymore a naive, unsophisticated 14-year-old without the resources or experience to go it alone or see a way out of current circumstances.
- Although _Pyetushkov_ shows us, by a certain open _naïveté_ of style, that a youthful hand is at work, it is the hand of a young master, carrying out the realism of the 'forties' -- that of Gogol, Balzac, and A Desperate Character and Other Stories
- Then, the phrase had struck Vincent as doting and naive, but sometime during his stay in Toulio, as his grasp of the Chinese language deepened, and as he learned—or was forced to learn—from his mistakes, he had felt the title gain merit and accuracy. Heaven Lake
- Some may view this as naive. The Sun
- I loved the very air of innocence and naivety that this place held.
- General Ricardo Izurieta, the moderate army commander, is now being criticised for political naivety by diehard Pinochetistas.
- How many bands have attempted to recapture the mood and style of their naive years? Times, Sunday Times
- Yet only a naive observer would say that his son is not powerful.
- His portraits often show his subjects brimming with youthful idealism and naivety; touchingly eager for fame, rather than sullied by it. Times, Sunday Times