Definitions: (1) showing innocent or childlike simplicity; naive; (2) free from reserve, disguise, or equivocation; fair; (3) unpretentious, modest
Derivation: Latin, “native, inborn.” The original sense was ‘innocently frank.’ {late 17th century}
Synonyms: candid, open
Ingenuous implies one who is actuated by candor and love of truth making them willing to speak their minds without reserve; natural implies a spontaneity lacking artificiality or self-consciousness.
Quote: Permission to be wrong, wedded with a responsibility to be right, creates a powerful, civilizing tension. We are a species ingenious enough to project our intellect out across the universe, and ingenuous enough to feel awe at the spectacles the sky still offers at home. — Jeffrey Kluger (1954) American writer