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Fine Dictionary

naivete

nɑˌivəˈteɪ
WordNet
  1. (n) naivete
    lack of sophistication or worldliness
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
  1. Naïveté
    lack of sophistication or worldliness.
  2. Naïveté
    The state or quality of being naive. "A story which pleases me by its naïveté that is, by its unconscious ingenuousness."
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary
  1. (n) Naivete
    (nä-ēv-tā′) natural simplicity and unreservedness of thought, manner, or speech
Quotations
Eric Hoffer
Naivete in grownups is often charming; but when coupled with vanity it is indistinguishable from stupidity.
Eric Hoffer
Etymology

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary F. See Naïve, and cf. Nativity

Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary Fr. naïf, fem, naïve—L. nativus, native—nasci, natus, to be born.

Usage in the news

The dodo 's reputation as a foolish, ungainly bird derives in part from its friendly naiveté and the very plump captives that were taken on tour across Europe. blog.seattlepi.com

Steven Chu deserves a booby prize for naivete. juneauempire.com

TLC's highly anticipated yet oddly restrained new reality series, "All-American Muslim," approaches its subjects from a starting point of total naivete. ashingtonpost.com

I've been doing what I've been doing for 40 years and, while I'm still learning, I long ago lost my naivete about sports. uticaod.com

Hodgson and Garber suffer naivete attacks. socceramerica.com

Naivete and the NAACP. spectator.org

It's hard to overestimate the degree of naiveté on the part of the West as it heads toward another round of nuclear talks with Iran in Baghdad on Wednesday. csmonitor.com

Lana Del Rey Blends Naivete , Nihilism on 'Born to Die'. courant.com

Hillary Clinton's North Korea naivete . latimes.com

Naivete for Its Own Sake. nytimes.com

Computer Naivete Cost Me a Bundle And a Bit of Sanity. ashingtonpost.com

Government is failing to protect the rights and freedoms of children in the polygamous community of Bountiful , continuing a years' long pattern of indecision, indifference and, at times, sheer naiveté. vancouversun.com

If you're losing touch with that hippie -dippie little ball of naivete you used to be, a Dead Wednesday or two will set you straight (and by that I mean crooked). charlestoncitypaper.com

But new research reveals that this naiveté persists a short distance outside reserves, as well. msnbc.msn.com

Obama's sin is not hypocrisy but naivete. ashingtonpost.com

Usage in scientific papers

In my naivet´e, I was both delighted and disappointed.
Few-Body Physics -- Then and Now

Usage in literature

Moreover, in their naivete, they imagined they were improving on Jackson because their prints were counterfeit paintings while his were not. "John Baptist Jackson" by Jacob Kainen

A naivete and freshness were in her voice. "Erik Dorn" by Ben Hecht

Facts were accepted with complete naivete. "Folkways" by William Graham Sumner

Buvat, in the naivete of his soul, was tormented by this good action as by a crime. "The Conspirators" by Alexandre Dumas (Pere)

Yet it is all mixed up with extraordinary naivete. "McClure's Magazine, Vol 31, No 2, June 1908" by Various

I was very much amused at the naivete of some of my companion's remarks. "Under the Ensign of the Rising Sun" by Harry Collingwood

For Phil to call her an amusing person was sheer childish naivete. "Otherwise Phyllis" by Meredith Nicholson

He was amused at her naivete, and had no wish to decry such open good-will. "A Man of Two Countries" by Alice Harriman

She was a strange mixture of naivete and strength, unlike anyone he had ever met before. "Deathworld" by Harry Harrison

On occasion he will assert his authority with some violence and naivete. "Home Life in Germany" by Mrs. Alfred Sidgwick