From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishnaivena‧ive /naɪˈiːv/ ●○○ adjective EXPERIENCEDnot having much experience of how complicated life is, so that you trust people too much and believe that good things will always happen → innocent a naive young girl Jim can be so naive sometimes.it is naive to think/suppose/assume etc It would be naive to think that this could solve all the area’s problems straight away. —naively adverb I had naively imagined that he was in love with me. —naivety /naɪˈiːvəti/ (also naiveté /naɪˈiːvəteɪ/) noun [uncountable] dangerous political naivety
Examples from the Corpus
naive• It is a myth that is clinically naive and will not stand up in the face of empirical evidence.• We're not naive anymore like we were in the 60s.• He held onto the naive belief that Marxism would solve all the world's problems.• Is anyone in domestic or foreign government stupid enough or naive enough to believe this?• I was so naive - I believed everything the military told me.• Talking with Bimal I realized how wrong - or naive - I had been.• Stewart plays the naive new senator.• Yet only a naive observer would say that his son is not powerful.• She struggled to analyze whether this was a naive point of view; or worthless cynicism.it is naive to think/suppose/assume etc• When the product is the supplier it is naive to suppose that the same rules apply.Origin naive (1600-1700) French naïve, feminine of naïf, from Latin nativus; → NATIVE1 