ingenuous
/ɪnˈd͡ʒɛn.ju.əs/adjective
ingenuous is spelled I-N-G-E-N-U-O-U-S: 9 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 12 million words in written English, the 103,949th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, ingenuous means “Naive and trusting” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in ingenuous?
| Letters | 9: I-N-G-E-N-U-O-U-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 12 million words; the 103,949th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is ingenuous?
Ingenuous appears about once in every 12 million words in written English, the 103,949th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce ingenuous?
- US /ɪnˈd͡ʒɛn.ju.əs/
Ingenuous has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-ingenuous.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with ingenuous?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as ingenuous from its last stressed vowel (/ɛnjuəs/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of ingenuous
- more ingenuous comparative
- most ingenuous superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does ingenuous mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Naive and trusting.
- 2
Demonstrating childlike simplicity.
- 3
Unsophisticated; clumsy or obvious.
- 4
Unable to mask one's feelings.
- 5
Straightforward, candid, open, frank.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Ingenuous in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | ingénu |
| German | arglos, freimütig, treuherzig, unverdorben , unbedarft, schlicht |
| Portuguese | ingénuo |
| Spanish | ingenuo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does ingenuous come from?
Learned borrowing from Latin ingenuus (“of noble character, frank”). Doublet of ingenu.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).