Oxford Dictionary English

    naive

    adjective
    (also naïve) adjective
    BrE BrE//naɪˈiːv//
    ; NAmE NAmE//naɪˈiːv//
    Youth
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  1. 1(disapproving) lacking experience of life, knowledge or good judgement and willing to believe that people always tell you the truth to be politically naive I can't believe you were so naive as to trust him! a naive question Wordfinderyoungadolescent, immature, mixed up, naive, puberty, rebellious, sulky, tearaway, teenager, young Oxford Collocations Dictionary verbsappear, be, prove, … adverbextremely, fairly, very, … phrasescall somebody naive See full entry See related entries: Youth
  2. 2(approving) (of people and their behaviour) innocent and simple synonym artless Their approach to life is refreshingly naive. compare sophisticated See related entries: Youth
  3. 3 (specialist) (of art) in a style which is deliberately very simple, often uses bright colours and is similar to that produced by a child
    4.  Word Originmid 17th cent.: from French naïve, feminine of naïf, from Latin nativus ‘native, natural’.Extra examples He regarded the move as politically naive. He made some particularly naive remarks. I can’t believe you were so naive as to trust him! It would be naive of us to think that football is only a game.
See naive in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic EnglishSee naive in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
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