INGENUOUSLY

artlessly, ingenuously

(adverb) in an ingenuous manner; “she answered the judge’s questions artlessly”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Adverb

ingenuously (comparative more ingenuously, superlative most ingenuously)

In an ingenuous manner; frankly, straightforwardly.

Source: Wiktionary


In*gen"u*ous*ly, adv.

Definition: In an ingenuous manner; openly; fairly; candidly; artlessly. Being required to explane himself, he ingeniously confessed. Ludlow.

INGENUOUS

In*gen"u*ous, a. Etym: [L. ingenuus inborn, innate, freeborn, noble, frank; pref. in- in + the root of gignere to beget. See Genius, and cf. Ingenious.]

1. Of honorable extraction; freeborn; noble; as, ingenuous blood of birth.

2. Noble; generous; magnanimous; honorable; uprigth; high-minded; as, an ingenuous ardor or zeal. If an ingenuous detestation of falsehood be but carefully and early instilled, that is the true and genuin method to obviate dishonesty. Locke.

3. Free from reserve, disguise, equivocation, or dissimulation; open; frank; sa, an ingenuous man; an ingenuous declaration, confession, etc. Sensible in myself . . . what a burden it is for me, who would be ingenuous, to be loaded with courtesies which he hath not the least hope to requite or deserve. Fuller.

4. Ingenious. [Obs.] Shak.

Note: (Formerly) printers did not discriminate between . . . ingenuous and ingenious, and these words were used or rather printed interchangeably almost to the begining of the eighteenth century. G. P. Marsh.

Syn.

– Open; frank; unreserved; artless; plain; sincere; candid; fair; noble; generous.

– Ingenuous, Open, Frank. One who is open speaks out at once what is uppermost in his mind; one who is frank does it from a natural boldness, or dislike of self-restraint; one who is ingenuous is actuated by a native simplicity and artlessness, which make him willing to confess faults, and make known his sentiments without reserve. See Candid.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

28 June 2025

ALLERGIC

(adjective) having an allergy or peculiar or excessive susceptibility (especially to a specific factor); “allergic children”; “hypersensitive to pollen”


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