Ingenue

//ˈɑnʒənu// noun

Definitions

Noun
  1. 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. 2
    the role of an innocent artless young woman in a play wordnet
  3. 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. 4
    an artless innocent young girl (especially as portrayed on the stage) wordnet
  5. 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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  1. 6
    an actress who specializes in playing the role of an artless innocent young girl wordnet

Etymology

Borrowed from French ingénue, the feminine form of ingénu (“guileless”), originally from the Latin ingenuus (“ingenuous”).

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