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ingenuousness

ingenuousness

1 8.2
Open and honest without trying to hide anything
  • noun
  • /ɪnˈdʒɛnjuəsnəs/
translation icon : ingenuidad

Examples

  • "No," he said, smiling at her ingenuousness.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • "Few tourists, in turn, can approach Berlin with the same ingenuousness that they bring to Paris or Venice.

    Academic text (1992)
  • He did it with the ease and ingenuousness?

    Fiction book (1990)
  • The words tumbled out, and then because of her youth and ingenuousness, she rushed on unthinkingly.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • Her unabashed admiration for her own children has an ingenuousness that is more amusing than offensive.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • I do not wish to carry on the debate here concerning the ingenuousness of social realism, but rather to suggest that it lies implicit in writing at all levels, even when writers are unaware of either the cause or consequences of such thinking.

    Academic text (1991)
  • Only the ingenuousness of a young male could have suggested that he master his libido the way Perken did in the Somali whorehouse: "The brothel-keeper had pushed a smiling little girl towards Perken."

    Academic text (1998)
  • Her ingenuousness made it easy for others to trust her and confide in her feelings.

  • The child's ingenuousness shone through as she asked the challenging questions that adults often avoided.

  • Despite his success, his ingenuousness remained; he would always admit when he didn't know something.

Synonyms

integrity
vsingenuousness
447 4.3

Being honest and doing what is right

focuses more on naive openness and lack of guile than moral strength
honesty
vsingenuousness
365 1.0

Being truthful and fair in what you say and do

adds open, naive frankness in addition to truth and fairness
innocence
vsingenuousness
100 3.5

Not knowing about the hard or bad parts of life

pairs that simple outlook with open honesty and frankness
sincerity
vsingenuousness
71 3.1

A feeling of being honest and not pretending

adds an innocent, openly frank quality beyond plain genuineness
candor
vsingenuousness
  • US
42 5.7

Being open and honest when talking or behaving

carries a more naive innocence alongside direct openness
veracity
vsingenuousness
27 7.6

Being honest and not telling lies

adds open, innocent frankness beyond strict truth telling
openness
vsingenuousness
22 3.5

Being honest and clear about your actions and intentions

adds innocent frankness and lack of deceit beyond transparency
truthfulness
vsingenuousness
13 2.7

Being honest and not telling lies

is more openly naive and frank than mere factual honesty
frankness
vsingenuousness
7 3.5

Open and honest talk that says exactly what you think

adds a trusting, innocent attitude beyond mere direct speech
forthrightness
vsingenuousness
3 6.6

A way of speaking that is honest and direct

involves more naive openness and lack of guile than directness alone
candidness
vsingenuousness
1 5.1

An honest and open way of speaking or acting

includes an innocent simplicity in addition to this direct openness
innocency
vsingenuousness
  • UK
1 9.9

The state of being free from guilt and bad intentions

adds open honesty and frankness alongside this simple lack of guilt or worldliness
guilelessness
vsingenuousness
1 7.6

A quality of being honest and not trying to trick people

emphasizes open frankness and naive simplicity rather than only lack of trickery
artlessness
vsingenuousness
1 6.8

Being simple and honest without trying to seem clever

is more openly frank and trusting rather than only simple innocence
openheartedness
vsingenuousness
5.4

Being kind, generous, and willing to share feelings honestly

focuses more on naive honesty and frankness than emotional sharing
unvarnished honesty
vsingenuousness
5.5

Very direct and truthful speech that does not soften the facts

is more innocent and sincere rather than blunt or rough truth telling
bluffness
vsingenuousness
7.0

Being direct and honest in a friendly, warm way

adds innocent openness rather than just cheerful directness
honestness
vsingenuousness
4.8

Being truthful and fair in what you say and do

includes an innocent, frank quality beyond plain truthfulness

Antonyms

46 3.2

Actions like lying, cheating, or stealing

4 5.6

Not showing true feelings when you speak or act

A way of hiding the truth by pretending to be less involved

How Ingenuous

innocence
35 3.6
naivety
7 6.1
ingenuousness
1 8.2
candor
  • US
42 5.7

Surface Forms

ingenuousness singular

Morphology

ingenuousness = ingenuous (transparent) = ingenuous + ness

The noun is a straightforward -ness nominalization of the adjective 'ingenuous'; its meaning is directly derived from the adjective.

Etymology

Ingenuousness comes from an old Latin word ingenuus meaning 'freeborn' and 'honest', because people born free were seen as open and sincere. So ingenuousness now means being open, honest, and innocent, and a helpful way to remember it is that it sounds like genuine ('honest').