ingenuous

/ɪnˈdʒɛnjəwəs/

Someone who is ingenuous shows a childlike innocence, trust, and openness. One of the things kindergarten teachers value is the chance to work with kids while they're still relatively ingenuous — their open, trusting natures are a joy.

Ingenuous is roughly synonymous with naive, and its antonym is disingenuous, which means "giving a false impression of being honest and sincere." Don't confuse the word ingenuous with the similarly spelled ingenious, which means "very smart or clever." Ingenuous is from Latin ingenuus "having the qualities of people born free, noble, honest, open."

Definitions of ingenuous

1. adjective

   lacking in sophistication or worldliness
   synonyms: innocent

   naif, naive

   marked by or showing unaffected simplicity and lack of guile or worldly experience
2. adjective

   characterized by an inability to mask your feelings; not devious
   “an ingenuous admission of responsibility”

   synonyms: artless

   candid, heart-to-heart, open

   openly straightforward and direct without reserve or secretiveness

   undistorted

   without alteration or misrepresentation

   sincere

   open and genuine; not deceitful

   naif, naive

   marked by or showing unaffected simplicity and lack of guile or worldly experience

   antonyms:

   disingenuous

   not straightforward or candid; giving a false appearance of frankness

   distorted, misrepresented, perverted, twisted

   having an intended meaning altered or misrepresented

   insincere

   lacking sincerity