variants also naivete or naiveté
1
2
as in gullibility
readiness to believe the claims of others without sufficient evidence though he was streetwise, the investigative reporter regularly assumed an air of naïveté when he was interviewing confidence men, charlatans, counterfeiters, and other assorted swindlers of the general public

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Examples Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of naïveté Perhaps the spectacle of naivete is all part of the Altman image. Allison Morrow, CNN, 5 Dec. 2024 So Americans who don't travel, who 80 percent don't have a passport, who are uneducated, are in their extraordinary naivete. Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 28 Nov. 2024 The naivete is challenging to understand when attackers use virtually every standard tool—from hardware and software to cloud resources—to conduct their operations. Denis Mandich, Forbes, 21 Oct. 2024 Anderson plays Shelley with a consummate sweetness that sometimes registers as naivete. Esther Zuckerman, TIME, 7 Sep. 2024 That is sort of where the disappointment comes from … my naivete. Todd Gilchrist, Variety, 17 Sep. 2024 But for whatever naivete the interaction implies, Sweetpea is no ingénue. Chloe Schama, Vogue, 13 Sep. 2024 How Oz convinces others to go along with his schemes or save his skin becomes a recurring bit that would be impossible to believe if there wasn’t a real-world parallel proving just how plausible people’s heinous naivete has become. Ben Travers, IndieWire, 12 Sep. 2024 MacKay has the perfect blend of naivete and curiosity, and all the others, particularly Gallagher as the longtime Friend deliver. Pete Hammond, Deadline, 31 Aug. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for naïveté
Noun
  • Despite this potential motive, Curtis maintained his innocence from the start.
    Emily Blackwood, People.com, 16 Dec. 2024
  • Cuellar, who won reelection in November despite the federal indictment against him, maintains his innocence.
    David Sivak, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 16 Dec. 2024
Noun
  • Embracing Simplicity In Modern Solutions Modern hardware capabilities allow for a paradigm shift toward simplicity.
    Avery Pennarun, Forbes, 20 Dec. 2024
  • The track’s production, helmed by DJ Pooh, achieves emotional depth through masterful simplicity.
    Walaa Elsiddig, Billboard, 19 Dec. 2024
Noun
  • Advertisement Napoletano had credibility issues as well.
    Jessica Garrison, Los Angeles Times, 18 Dec. 2024
  • Performance: Delivering Results That Drive Impact Performance is the cornerstone of leadership credibility.
    Paola Cecchi-Dimeglio, Forbes, 18 Dec. 2024
Noun
  • After that, ignorance will be bliss for the would-be moneybags.
    Amy Hubbard, Los Angeles Times, 5 Dec. 2024
  • Cancer experts told The Hill that research toward cervical cancer prevention and treatment receives less funding compared to other diseases for three main reasons: low late-stage survival rates, ignorance of how prevalent the disease is and stigma surrounding it.
    Alejandra O’Connell-Domenech, The Hill, 3 Dec. 2024
Noun
  • Confounding elements proliferate the picture, mostly dealing with character behaviors and situations that either strain credulity (like the Santa photo-op still running past the bar’s closing time) or lead to more questions than answers.
    Courtney Howard, Variety, 19 Nov. 2024
  • In less assured hands, the combination of genres might have backfired terribly, but director Alan Gibson shepherds the production through its various tones without ever straining credulity in a way that impedes the entertainment value.
    Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 30 Oct. 2024
Noun
  • There is a poignant naivety to that, even if his devotional dance soon segues into a fight — all the more dazzling, of course, for being fought and won by a man in a skirt.
    Stephanie Bunbury, Deadline, 8 Dec. 2024
  • Normally bubbling with positivity and naivety, Jacob experiences an emotional breakdown in this episode, which revolves around his adversarial relationship with his family during a surprise appearance from his masculine, drone-flying younger brother.
    Andrés Buenahora, Variety, 5 Dec. 2024
Noun
  • But despite optimism that quantum computing could one day change the world — or at least computers’ role in it — experts in the field have suggested that Google’s quantum computing breakthrough is still lacking in real-world uses.
    Arjun Kharpal, CNBC, 10 Dec. 2024
  • After multiple meetings with Hegseth throughout December, including two within the past week, Ernst expressed cautious optimism while stopping short of committing her support according to posts on X, formerly Twitter.
    Joseph Epstein, Newsweek, 10 Dec. 2024

Thesaurus Entries Near naïveté

Cite this Entry

“Naïveté.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/na%C3%AFvet%C3%A9. Accessed 23 Dec. 2024.

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