1. characterized by an inability to mask your feelings; not devious - an ingenuous admission of responsibility • Syn: artless • Ant: disingenuous • Similar to: candid, open, heart-to-heart, undistorted • See Also: naive, naif, sincere • Derivationally related forms: artlessness (for: artless), ingenuousness 2. lacking in sophistication or worldliness - a child's innocent stare - his ingenuous explanation that he would not have burned the church if he had not thought the bishop was in it • Syn: innocent • Similar to: naive, naif • Derivationally related forms: ingenuousness, innocence (for: innocent)
