Definitions for naivenɑˈiv

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Random House Webster's College Dictionary

na•ivenɑˈiv(adj.)

or na•ïve

  1. having or showing unaffected simplicity of nature; unsophisticated; ingenuous.

  2. having or showing a lack of experience, judgment, or information; credulous.

  3. marked by a simple style reflecting little or no formal training:

    naive painting.

    Category: Common Vocabulary

  4. not having previously been the subject of a scientific experiment, as an animal.

    Category: Laboratory Biology

Origin of naive:

1645–55; < F, fem. of naïf, OF naif natural, instinctive < L nātīvusnative

na•ive′ness(n.)

Princeton's WordNet

  1. naive, naif(adj)

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

    "a teenager's naive ignorance of life"; "the naive assumption that things can only get better"; "this naive simple creature with wide friendly eyes so eager to believe appearances"

  2. primitive, naive(adj)

    of or created by one without formal training; simple or naive in style

    "primitive art such as that by Grandma Moses is often colorful and striking"

  3. naive(adj)

    inexperienced

  4. uninstructed, unenlightened, naive(adj)

    lacking information or instruction

    "lamentably unenlightened as to the laws"

  5. uninitiate, uninitiated, naive(adj)

    not initiated; deficient in relevant experience

    "it seemed a bizarre ceremony to uninitiated western eyes"; "he took part in the experiment as a naive subject"

Kernerman English Learner's Dictionary

  1. naive(adjective)ɑˈiv

    having little experience of the bad things in the world; = innocent

    She was young and naive and believed every word he said.; naively optimistic; Naively, we thought it couldn't happen to us.

Wiktionary

  1. naive(Adjective)

    Lacking experience, wisdom, or judgement.

    Surely you're not naive enough to believe adverts!

  2. naive(Adjective)

    Produced in a simple, childlike style, deliberately rejecting sophisticated techniques.

    I've always liked the naive way in which he ignores all the background detail.

  3. Origin: From naïve, from nativus.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Naive(adj)

    having native or unaffected simplicity; ingenuous; artless; frank; as, naive manners; a naive person; naive and unsophisticated remarks

The New Hacker's Dictionary

  1. naive

    1. Untutored in the perversities of some particular program or system; one who still tries to do things in an intuitive way, rather than the right way (in really good designs these coincide, but most designs aren't ‘really good’ in the appropriate sense). This trait is completely unrelated to general maturity or competence, or even competence at any other specific program. It is a sad commentary on the primitive state of computing that the natural opposite of this term is often claimed to be experienced user but is really more like cynical user. 2. Said of an algorithm that doesn't take advantage of some superior but advanced technique, e.g., the bubble sort. It may imply naivete on the part of the programmer, although there are situations where a naive algorithm is preferred, because it is more important to keep the code comprehensible than to go for maximum performance. “I know the linear search is naive, but in this case the list typically only has half a dozen items.” Compare brute force.


Translations for naive

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary

naive(adjective)

simple and straightforward in one's way of thinking, speaking etc.

Get even more translations for naive »


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