naive
too trusting; inexperienced
Trusting people or ideas too much because you do not have enough experience or do not think carefully about them.
[someone] is naive (about [something])
- At nineteen he was still naive about how business really worked.
- She’s a little naive, and people sometimes take advantage of her kindness.
- It was naive to think that the company would change its policy overnight.
- He has a rather naive belief that everyone is basically honest.
- You’re being naive if you think online information is always reliable.
- He is very young and a bit naive.
- I was naive and believed everything he said.
- She is naive about money and spends it too easily.
- It is naive to think that life is always fair.
- They were naive and trusted the stranger without any questions.
simple and unsophisticated in style
Simple and not very modern or sophisticated, sometimes in a fresh or honest way.
[something] has a naive [quality]
- The book’s naive style makes it easy and pleasant to read.
- There is a naive charm to the film’s simple story and basic special effects.
- His naive view of the world ignores many hard political realities.
- The letter was touching in its naive honesty.
- Her early songs have a naive simplicity that fans still love.
- The movie is simple and a little naive, but I like it.
- Her drawing is naive, but it feels very honest.
- He has a naive idea of what life in a big city is like.
- The story is naive, with clear good and bad characters.
- Some people enjoy the naive style of old children’s books.
simple, childlike style in art
Used about art that looks simple and childlike, often made by someone who did not study art in school.
naive [painting / artist / style]
- The museum has a small collection of naive art from rural France.
- Her paintings were once dismissed as naive, but are now highly valued.
- The book is filled with naive illustrations of village life.
- He developed a naive style that ignored perspective but captured strong emotion.
- Critics praised the naive landscape for its bright colors and simple forms.
- The gallery shows many naive paintings by local artists.
- His drawing looks naive, like a child made it.
- She likes naive art because it feels open and honest.
- This naive picture of a house has very simple lines.
- They collect naive art from different countries.
simple but unsophisticated approach
Describes a method or idea that is very simple and easy to understand, but does not think about real problems like speed or safety.
naive [approach / solution / algorithm]
- The naive algorithm works for small datasets but is far too slow for large ones.
- This is a naive solution that ignores security risks.
- A naive approach would be to test every possible answer until one fits.
- Their initial model was naive and did not include any random variation.
- Engineers first implement a naive version before optimizing the code.
- The naive method is easy, but it is very slow.
- This is a naive solution that does not think about cost.
- We started with a naive model and then made it better.
- A naive algorithm checks every item one by one.
- The teacher showed a naive way and then a faster way.
- Base: naive
be naive to think that
1say a belief is unrealistic
Used to say that believing something is too simple and does not match how things really are.
- You’d be naive to think that the internet always tells you the truth.
- It’s naive to think that money alone will solve the problem.
- We were naive to think that starting a business would be easy.
call me naive, but
1preface a possibly naive opinion
Used before you say an opinion, to show you know it might sound naive or too simple.
- Call me naive, but I still think most people are basically good.
- Call me naive, but I believe hard work usually pays off.
- Call me naive, but I thought the government would act faster.
how naive of me
1admit your own naive mistake
Used to say, often with some humor, that you now see your past idea or action was naive.
- I thought he would call me back right away—how naive of me.
- I trusted the ad without checking the reviews, how naive of me.
- I believed I could finish the report in one hour; how naive of me.
in my naive view
1present your limited viewpoint
Used before you give your opinion, to show that you know you may not understand everything.
- In my naive view, the solution seems quite simple.
- In my naive view, they should just talk to each other directly.
- In my naive view, the policy hurts more people than it helps.
naive art
1art in a naive style
Art that looks simple and childlike, usually made by artists who did not have formal art training.
- She specializes in collecting naive art from Eastern Europe.
- The exhibition of naive art attracted many visitors.
- His paintings are often described as naive art.
naive Bayes
1simple probabilistic classifier model
In computer science and statistics, a simple method for classifying data that treats different features as independent, even when they are not.
- We used a naive Bayes model to filter spam emails.
- Naive Bayes is often taught as an introduction to machine learning.
- Despite its simple assumptions, naive Bayes can perform surprisingly well.
naive question
1simple question from inexperience
A question that shows you do not know much about the subject, often used to apologize before you ask.
- This may be a naive question, but how do interest rates actually affect me?
- Sorry if this is a naive question, but why can’t we just print more money?
- She smiled and said, "That’s not a naive question at all."
naive realism
1belief world is as perceived
In philosophy and psychology, the idea that things in the world are exactly as they look or feel to us, without any change by our minds.
- Many people start with a kind of naive realism about perception.
- The course contrasts naive realism with more complex theories of knowledge.
- Naive realism treats sensory experience as a direct window onto reality.
politically naive
1inexperienced in political matters
Not understanding how politics or power really work in the world or in an organization.
- He’s smart, but politically naive and easy to outmaneuver.
- The proposal was dismissed as politically naive.
- Young activists are often politically naive but very passionate.
socially naive
1inexperienced in social situations
Not understanding social rules or how to behave with other people in a smart way.
- He’s a bit socially naive and sometimes says the wrong thing.
- Coming from a small town, she felt socially naive in the big city.
- Being socially naive, he didn’t realize his joke was rude.