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GRE vocabulary

ingenuous

adjectiveHigh-frequency wordMore I words

innocent and unsuspecting; frank and candid

Word origin: From Latin ingenuus, native or freeborn, hence frank.

In a sentence

Ingenuous in a sentence

Here are example sentences showing ingenuous in a sentence.

Her ingenuous remarks revealed she had no idea of the office politics around her.

Her ingenuous reply, free of any calculation, disarmed the interviewers who had expected evasion.

Antonyms
cunningguileful
Usage & nuance

Using “ingenuous” well

Ingenuous describes frank, innocent candor without guile. Do not confuse it with ingenious, meaning clever, or with disingenuous, meaning insincere.

Common questions

Questions about “ingenuous

Ingenuous (adjective) means innocent and unsuspecting; frank and candid
Here is ingenuous used in an example sentence: "Her ingenuous remarks revealed she had no idea of the office politics around her." Another example: "Her ingenuous reply, free of any calculation, disarmed the interviewers who had expected evasion."
Common synonyms for ingenuous include naive, artless, guileless, candid.
Antonyms of ingenuous include cunning, guileful.
Ingenuous clusters with naive, artless, guileless, and candid. Its antonyms cunning and guileful mark the contrast; ingenious and disingenuous are frequent traps.
Yes. Ingenuous is a high-frequency GRE word, so it is worth prioritising as you build your vocabulary.

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