variants
or naif
as in naive
lacking in worldly wisdom or informed judgment
the senator, newly elected and still naïf, will learn soon enough how Washington really works
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
variants
or naif
as in virgin
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of naïf
Meghan Cox Gurdon, WSJ, 21 Nov. 2023
Colorful naif pictures by Katie Hickey and text arranged in substantial chunks make this perfect for browsing by young readers with an interest in engineering or architecture.
—Meghan Cox Gurdon, WSJ, 12 Aug. 2022
Alison Herman, Variety, 27 Feb. 2025
Rogan, wearing his persona as a babe-in-the-woods naif, listened to this nonsense in slack-jawed stupefaction.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 12 Dec. 2024
Both stand in stark contrast to the naif played by Daniela Komędera, who enjoys any prompts for activities and appears glad to be relieved of any opportunity to have to think for herself.
—Stephen Saito, Variety, 20 Mar. 2025
David himself is a generic naif whose sole distinguishing trait is a passion for music, curiously sung in unsubtitled Hebrew while the spoken dialogue is in English.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 27 Feb. 2025
Rogan, wearing his persona as a babe-in-the-woods naif, listened to this nonsense in slack-jawed stupefaction.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 12 Dec. 2024
Farrow, presenting in the early scenes as an utter naif, discovers the pleasures of running cons; LuPone, who shows up a hellion, develops a sensitivity and nurturing spirit to the lost soul who’s provided her character a home.
—Daniel D'addario, Variety, 13 Sep. 2024
Angourie Rice plays our ostensible heroine Cady Heron as more of an earnest naif.
—Katie Walsh, Twin Cities, 11 Jan. 2024
Reasonable readers will arrive at varied opinions about the taste of all this—the facts are the facts, and the narrative pulses with empathy, but the tone at times resembles cosmic horror, as if Ehrenfest were a Lovecraftian naif driven mad after glimpsing an Elder God.
—Amy Brady, Scientific American, 1 Oct. 2023
Adjective
Most illustrators play up the coziness of the tale, what with children all snug in their beds dreaming of sugarplums and suchlike, but the friendly lines and marzipan colors of Ms. Beech’s naif illustrations take coziness to a new level.
—Meghan Cox Gurdon, WSJ, 21 Nov. 2023
Colorful naif pictures by Katie Hickey and text arranged in substantial chunks make this perfect for browsing by young readers with an interest in engineering or architecture.
—Meghan Cox Gurdon, WSJ, 12 Aug. 2022
Noun
David himself is a generic naif whose sole distinguishing trait is a passion for music, curiously sung in unsubtitled Hebrew while the spoken dialogue is in English.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 27 Feb. 2025
Rogan, wearing his persona as a babe-in-the-woods naif, listened to this nonsense in slack-jawed stupefaction.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 12 Dec. 2024
Both stand in stark contrast to the naif played by Daniela Komędera, who enjoys any prompts for activities and appears glad to be relieved of any opportunity to have to think for herself.
—Stephen Saito, Variety, 20 Mar. 2025
David himself is a generic naif whose sole distinguishing trait is a passion for music, curiously sung in unsubtitled Hebrew while the spoken dialogue is in English.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 27 Feb. 2025
Rogan, wearing his persona as a babe-in-the-woods naif, listened to this nonsense in slack-jawed stupefaction.
—Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 12 Dec. 2024
Farrow, presenting in the early scenes as an utter naif, discovers the pleasures of running cons; LuPone, who shows up a hellion, develops a sensitivity and nurturing spirit to the lost soul who’s provided her character a home.
—Daniel D'addario, Variety, 13 Sep. 2024
Angourie Rice plays our ostensible heroine Cady Heron as more of an earnest naif.
—Katie Walsh, Twin Cities, 11 Jan. 2024
Reasonable readers will arrive at varied opinions about the taste of all this—the facts are the facts, and the narrative pulses with empathy, but the tone at times resembles cosmic horror, as if Ehrenfest were a Lovecraftian naif driven mad after glimpsing an Elder God.
—Amy Brady, Scientific American, 1 Oct. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for naïf
Adjective
-
The first big work people make, that first foray into the public eye, has something so naive about it.—
Simon Thompson,
Forbes.com,
26 May 2025
-
But his answers Thursday painted the picture of an organization willing to trust internal answers over trading Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon or Michael Porter Jr. That is either delusional, naive, or both.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
22 May 2025
Noun
-
The funny thing is that most interpretations of Virgo have the virgin holding the ear in her right hand….Go figure.—
Mike Lynch,
Twin Cities,
18 May 2025
-
And, both classical and modern critics have pointed out that the original Hebrew of Isaiah 7:14, the prophecy that the Gospel writers cite to support their claim, makes reference not to a virgin, but literally to a young woman (almah).—
Jack Hanson,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Video showed dozens of LAPD officers massed in a skirmish line across the street from the mob, gripping black and green riot guns that fire foam rounds.—
Matthew Ormseth,
Los Angeles Times,
26 May 2025
-
Marco Andretti followed up on the first green flag lap and crashed as well.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
25 May 2025
Noun
-
If its sympathies can’t help but tilt a little toward the colonized, the film still plays like a nightmare in which every escalation kills more innocents and every victory comes at a horrible cost.—
Keith Phipps,
Vulture,
22 Nov. 2024
-
After decades of lycanthropy, Sir John is no longer a reluctant killer and has stopped chaining himself up during the full moon, now gleefully slaughtering innocents without a care in the world.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
22 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
Doing Well By Doing Good Besides being the right thing to do, empowering consumers with personalized financial know-how may be good business, especially for fledgling fintechs.—
Lindsey Downing,
Forbes.com,
21 May 2025
-
Rather than picking on a fledgling program that is likely doomed by local politics anyway, the Trump administration should keep its eye on the prize: implementing policies that serve all students by greatly expanding school choice.—
Paul Vallas,
Chicago Tribune,
7 May 2025
Noun
-
Flecks of mica and pyrite and who knows what, but only fools and greenhorns mistake it for gold.—
John Archibald,
Southern Living,
25 May 2025
-
The indestructible Gill, still strolling the fairways of the magazine, was more than welcoming to a greenhorn.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
5 May 2025
Noun
-
This coming of age story captivated us all the way down the pink sheep.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
26 May 2025
-
With partner Jean Pierre Daguerre, Moulton raised sheep and cattle, but when the sheep part of the enterprise did not go well, the two parted ways and Moulton concentrated on cattle ranching.—
Penny E Schwartz,
Oc Register,
19 May 2025
Noun
-
Getty Images Notably absent from the race, however, was Sovereignty, the 3-year-old colt who won the Kentucky Derby.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
17 May 2025
-
Trainer Michael McCarthy saddled the 3-year-old colt to a masterful win Saturday in 1 minute, 55.47 seconds.—
Sam Cohn,
Baltimore Sun,
17 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Naïf.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/na%C3%AFf. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.
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