Ingenue
noun ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
- 1 An innocent, unsophisticated, naïve, wholesome girl or young woman.
"She was seen as a gifted pop-country ingenue when, in a now infamous moment, Kanye West interrupted Swift onstage at the 2009 VMAs while she was accepting an award. The incident set in motion a chain of events that would shape the next decade of both artists’ lives."
- 2 the role of an innocent artless young woman in a play wordnet
- 3 A dramatic role of such a woman; an actress playing such a role.
"The intelligent and talented blonde who was fluent in English, French and Spanish was interested in art and joined a local theater group to work on set designs but wound up on stage playing an ingenue in Liliom and was spotted by director Vincente Minnelli."
- 4 an artless innocent young girl (especially as portrayed on the stage) wordnet
- 5 Misspelling of ingenu. alt-of, misspelling, rare
"Mr. Acheson's failure as Secretary of State ... has been an inability to understand people or to be understood by them."
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- 6 an actress who specializes in playing the role of an artless innocent young girl wordnet
Example
More examples"She was seen as a gifted pop-country ingenue when, in a now infamous moment, Kanye West interrupted Swift onstage at the 2009 VMAs while she was accepting an award. The incident set in motion a chain of events that would shape the next decade of both artists’ lives."
Etymology
Borrowed from French ingénue, the feminine form of ingénu (“guileless”), originally from the Latin ingenuus (“ingenuous”).