• adj. 天真的；坦白的；正直的；樸實的

來自拉丁語ingenuus,天生的，出生高貴的，來自in-,進入，使，內(nèi)在，-gen,生育，出生，詞源同gene,gentle.原指出生高貴的，后引申詞義真誠的，天真無邪的，但現(xiàn)在多用于貶義天真的，單純的。

ingenuous

ingenuous: [16] Etymologically, ingenuous means ‘inborn’. English acquired it from Latin ingenuus, which was composed of the prefix inand the element *gen-, denoting ‘production, birth’. This was originally used for ‘born in a particular place, native, not foreign’, but it soon began to take on connotations of ‘freeborn, not a slave’, and hence ‘of noble birth’.

Metaphorical transference to qualities thought characteristic of the nobility – uprightness, candour, straightforwardness, etc – soon followed, and that was the word’s semantic slant when English acquired it. By the 17th century, however, it had started to slide towards ‘a(chǎn)rtlessness, innocence’ (a sense reflected in ingénue, borrowed from French in the 19th century).
=> gene, general, generate, genital, ingénue

ingenuous (adj.)

1590s, "noble in nature," from Latin ingenuus "with the virtues of freeborn people, of noble character, frank, upright, candid," originally "native, freeborn," from in- "in" (see in- (2)) + gen-, root of gignere "beget, produce" (see genus). Sense of "artless, innocent" is 1670s, via evolution from "high-minded" to "honorably open, straightforward," to "innocently frank." Related: Ingenuously; ingenuousness.

1. He seemed too ingenuous for a reporter.

作為一名記者，他太老實了。

來自柯林斯例句

2. It is ingenuous to suppose that money did not play a part in his decision.

如果以為他的決定沒有金錢的因素，那就太天真了。

來自《權(quán)威詞典》

3. He found her charming, but perhaps just a shade too ingenuous for him.

他覺得她很迷人，但對他來說可能又有點太過天真。

來自柯林斯例句

4. With ingenuous sincerity, he captivated his audience.

他以自己的率真迷住了觀眾。

來自辭典例句

5. The ingenuous boy gave an account of his act, concealing nothing.

那老實的男孩毫無隱諱地說明了他的行為.

來自辭典例句