l’ingenuo
naive
Che crede facilmente agli altri e vede le cose in modo molto semplice, senza sospettare il male o l’inganno.
Definition & meaning
Ingenuo means naive or innocent: someone who readily trusts others or lacks experience of deception and the complexities of life. It can also describe an action or idea that shows this lack of experience.
It can have a positive sense of simple, sincere, or unspoiled, as well as a negative sense of being gullible.
Grammar & Word origin
An adjective with four forms: masculine singular ingenuo, feminine singular ingenua, masculine plural ingenui, and feminine plural ingenue.
It comes from Latin ingenuus, originally meaning “freeborn,” and later “noble,” “frank,” or “innocent.”
Synonyms & antonyms
- Synonyms: naif emphasizes an innocent or artless outlook; credulone is more negative and means easily deceived; innocente emphasizes innocence rather than lack of experience.
- Antonyms: scaltro means shrewd and hard to deceive; malizioso suggests a knowing or mischievous attitude, contrasting with innocence.
Common phrases & collocations
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Examples
Lui è un ragazzo ingenuo ma simpatico.adjective
He is a naive but nice boy.
Erano troppo ingenui per riconoscere il pericolo.adjective
They were too naive to recognize the danger.
Sembravano ingenue le proposte che ci hanno fatto ieri.adjective
The proposals they made to us yesterday seemed naive.
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