adj.
Function: adjective
Etymology: Latin ingenuus native, freeborn, from in- + gignere to beget ― more at KIN
Date: 1588
1 obsolete : NOBLE , HONORABLE
2 a : showing innocent or childlike simplicity and candidness <her ingenuous thirst for experience ― Christopher Rawson> b : lacking craft or subtlety < ingenuous in their brutality>
synonyms see NATURAL
– in · gen · u · ous · ly adverb
– in · gen · u · ous · ness noun