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naive

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The definition of naive is being immature, unaware or overly trusting.

(adjective)

An example of naive is someone who believes that the moon is made of cheese because their mother said it was.

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See naive in Webster's New World College Dictionary

or

adjective

unaffectedly, or sometimes foolishly, simple; childlike; artless
not suspicious; credulous

Origin: Fr, fem. of naïf < L nativus, natural, native

Related Forms:

naively adverb or naïvely

See naive in American Heritage Dictionary 4

or na·ïve

adjective

Lacking worldly experience and understanding, especially:
a. Simple and guileless; artless: a child with a naive charm.
b. Unsuspecting or credulous: “Students, often bright but naive, bet—and lose—substantial sums of money on sporting events” (Tim Layden).
Showing or characterized by a lack of sophistication and critical judgment: “this extravagance of metaphors, with its naive bombast” (H.L. Mencken).
a. Not previously subjected to experiments: testing naive mice.
b. Not having previously taken or received a particular drug: persons naive to marijuana.

noun

One who is artless, credulous, or uncritical.

Origin:

Origin: French naïve

Origin: , feminine of naïf

Origin: , from Old French naif, natural, native

Origin: , from Latin nātīvus, native, rustic

Origin: , from nātus

Origin: , past participle of nāscī, to be born; see genə- in Indo-European roots

.

Related Forms:

na·iveˈly adverb

na·iveˈness noun

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