ingenue

noun

in·​ge·​nue ˈan-jə-ˌnü How to pronounce ingenue (audio)
ˈän-;
ˈaⁿ-zhə-,
ˈäⁿ-
variants or ingénue
1
: a naive girl or young woman
2
: the stage role of an ingenue
also : an actress playing such a role

Did you know?

Although Becky Sharp, the ambitious heroine of William Makepeace Thackeray's 1848 novel Vanity Fair, is not usually thought of as innocent or naive, the author used ingenue to describe her as having those qualities. Thackeray's use was attributive: "When attacked sometimes, Becky had a knack of adopting a demure ingenue air, under which she was most dangerous." The word ingenue typically refers to someone who is innocent to the ways of the world, so you probably won't be too surprised to learn that it shares an ancestor—Latin ingenuus—with ingenuous, a word meaning "showing innocent or childlike simplicity and candidness." More directly, our ingenue comes from French ingénue, the feminine form of ingénu, meaning "ingenuous."

Examples of ingenue in a Sentence

In her latest film she plays the part of an ingenue.
Recent Examples on the Web If playing the ingenue has an expiration date, so, too, does inhabiting the boyish beau. Lisa Kennedy, Variety, 14 Mar. 2024 The Sun Also Sets, is beset on all sides by ingenues, writers, and former lovers hellbent on taking her down. Andrew Walsh, EW.com, 14 Nov. 2023 The organization has been recognizing younger performers in daytime dramas since 1985 in outstanding young man and outstanding ingenue in a drama series categories. Beatrice Verhoeven, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Feb. 2024 Delectable and wicked, this high-drama novel follows Julia Lambert, a celebrated actress who destroys her ingenue rival. The Week Us, theweek, 18 Jan. 2024 But this evening's shape skewed particularly wolfish, exuding a devil-may-care air more synonymous with her Breakfast Club foils than her own ingenue origins. Calin Van Paris, Vogue, 7 Nov. 2023 Not that being settled into spinsterhood was a license to continue dressing like an ingenue either: satirists were quick to scorn middle-aged women who flaunted flesh that should long since have been tucked away under a higher neckline, or the all-important longer sleeves. Kathryn Hughes, The New York Review of Books, 9 Mar. 2023 Graham represents something of a subversive anomaly here, considering her early filmography consisting almost entirely of promiscuous ingenues plus one of her other 2023 releases, the Lovecraftian occult film Suitable Flesh. Nicholas Bell, SPIN, 5 Dec. 2023 Kara Young plays ingenue Lutiebelle Gussie Mae Jenkins, originated by Davis’s wife, Ruby Dee. Peter Marks, Washington Post, 20 Oct. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ingenue.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

French ingénue, feminine of ingénu ingenuous, from Latin ingenuus

First Known Use

1839, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of ingenue was in 1839

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Dictionary Entries Near ingenue

Cite this Entry

“Ingenue.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ingenue. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

ingenue

noun
in·​ge·​nue
variants or ingénue
: an innocent girl or young woman or an actress playing such a person

More from Merriam-Webster on ingenue

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