Basic Details
Word: Naive
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Too ready to believe what others say, because of having little experience of life; innocent in a way that can be taken advantage of.
Synonyms: innocent, gullible, trusting, inexperienced
Antonyms: shrewd, worldly, experienced
Word origin: Comes from French naive, the feminine form of naif, natural, from Latin nativus, natural.
How to Spell Naive
Syllables: na - ive
Tricky part: It is said in two parts, nye-EEV, and spelt a then i. Students swap these to write niave, or add an extra e.
Watch out for: niave, naieve, nieve
Memory tip: The two sounds come in alphabet order: na (a) then ive (i). A before i, just as in the alphabet.
Usage Examples
Example 1: It was naive of me to think the shortcut would save time.
Example 2: The naive tourist paid five times the real price for a fake silk scarf.
Example 3: Young players are often naive about how tough professional sport can be.
Fun Fact
In French and in careful English it is sometimes written with two dots over the i. The dots show that the a and i are said separately, not as one sound.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the word opposite in meaning to naive as used in the sentence:
It was naive of him to believe that a stranger on the internet would return his money.
a) shrewd
b) innocent
c) trusting
d) gullible
Show answer
a) shrewd. A naive person believes too easily; a shrewd person is hard to fool.
Spell-o-Spell
Only one word in the list is spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of that word.
1. fasade 2. sabotege 3. naive 4. resturant
a) the front of a building
b) too ready to believe others because of little experience
c) deliberate damage done to stop something from working
d) a place where you buy and eat meals
Show answer
b) too ready to believe others because of little experience. Naive is spelt right; restaurant, facade and sabotage are the correct forms of the other French loanwords.
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
n_ _ve
a) e, i
b) i, a
c) a, i
d) a, e
Show answer
c) a, i. The word is said na-ive, so the a sound comes first and the i second.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the word in the sentence and choose it:
The aenvi traveller handed his passport to a man he had just met.
a) navy
b) naive
c) novice
d) native
Show answer
b) naive. Five letters with no t make naive, and handing over a passport to a stranger is a naive act.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which action is naive?
a) asking a teacher for advice before an exam
b) checking reviews before buying something online
c) locking your cycle when you leave it outside
d) telling your bank PIN to a stranger who phones you
Show answer
d) telling your bank PIN to a stranger who phones you
2. Naive came into English from which language?
a) Greek
b) German
c) Hindi
d) French
Show answer
d) French
