naive

== English == === Alternative forms === naïve naiive === Etymology === Borrowed from French naïve, feminine form of naïf, from Latin nātīvus (“native, natural”). Doublet of native. === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /naɪˈiːv/, /nɑːˈiːv/ enPR: nī'ēv, (General American) IPA(key): /naɪˈiv/, /nɑˈiv/ Rhymes: -iːv (North India) IPA(key): /nɑˈjiʋ/, [näː.jiːʋ] (South India) IPA(key): /nəˈjiʋ/, [nɐ.jiːʋ] Hyphenation: na‧ive === Adjective === naive (comparative naiver or more naive, superlative naivest or most naive) Lacking worldly experience, wisdom, or judgement; unsophisticated. Not having been exposed to something. (of art) Produced in a simple, childlike style, deliberately rejecting sophisticated techniques. (computing) Intuitive; designed to follow the way ordinary people approach a problem. ==== Usage notes ==== Google Ngram Viewer shows naive to be historically more common than naïve but the latter has gained popularity after year 2000, reaching the popularity of the other spelling. However, since Google Ngram Viewer results for older books are derived from OCR of scans, which very often make mistakes for diacritics, this estimate is likely substantially inaccurate. Spellings in dictionaries: naive is covered by Merriam-Webster, AHD, Collins, Macmillan, Cambridge and OED. naïve is covered by Merriam-Webster (as a variant), AHD, Collins (as a variant), Macmillan (as a variant), Cambridge (as a variant), OED (as a variant), and Century 1911. GPO manual states that "Diacritical marks are not used with anglicized word" and mentions naive and naivete. Guardian and Observer style guide indicates naive, naively, and naivety with no accent. The diaeresis in naïve is there to indicate the vowel is pronounced in a separate syllable. Since naïve is a feminine adjective in French, the masculine naïf (or naif) is occasionally used in English when describing a man, but naive/naïve is most often treated as gender-neutral. Naif or naïf is also the noun form in English. ==== Synonyms ==== See also Thesaurus:naive ==== Antonyms ==== See also Thesaurus:naive ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Related terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === Noun === naive (plural naives) A naive person; a greenhorn. ==== Translations ==== === References === === Further reading === “naive”, in OneLook Dictionary Search. “naïve, naive”, in Google Books Ngram Viewer. === Anagrams === naevi, Nieva, avine, nævi, navie, Évian == Danish == === Adjective === naive inflection of naiv: definite singular plural == Esperanto == === Etymology === From naiva +‎ -e. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /naˈive/ Rhymes: -ive Syllabification: na‧i‧ve === Adverb === naive naively === Further reading === “naive”, in Plena Ilustrita Vortaro de Esperanto [Complete Illustrated Dictionary of Esperanto], 2020, →ISBN “naive”, in Reta Vortaro [Online Dictionary] (in Esperanto), 1997-present == German == === Pronunciation === === Adjective === naive inflection of naiv: strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular strong nominative/accusative plural weak nominative all-gender singular weak accusative feminine/neuter singular == Norwegian Bokmål == === Adjective === naive definite singular/plural of naiv == Norwegian Nynorsk == === Adjective === naive definite singular/plural of naiv == Swedish == === Adjective === naive definite natural masculine singular of naiv