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Meanings of ingenue in English

An innocent, unsophisticated, naïve girl or young woman.

Usage of ingenue in English
1
Ronson's pose is that of the ingenue sleuth: Colombo with added neuroses.
The Irish Times
2
Merkle retorted acidly: My dear child, don't try to act the ingenue.
The Auction Block
3
It's as if the industry still sees her as an ingenue.
Reuters
4
The one-time ingenue turned 48 last month and it appears to suit her.
The Guardian
5
Evidently she is cast for the 'ingenue' part in this little social drama!
A Fascinating Traitor: An Anglo-Indian Story
6
Oh, don't be an ingenue; you savvied more than anybody on the job.
The Iron Trail
7
Lee's elegant writing ably showcases Ellen's journey from directionless ingenue to highly regarded botanist.
The Irish Times
8
I do the ingenue, or young girl parts, which are very popular just now.
Aunt Jane's Nieces out West
9
French actress Berenice Bejo plays Peppy Miller, an ingenue looking for a big break.
Reuters
10
Every cell of her body was alive-thinwrists, quince-blossomskin, ingenue eyes, black hair.
Main Street
11
A little too gracefully, Michael noted coldly, like an ingenue.
The Young Lions
12
In their eyes, there's not the ingenue kind of innocence.
The Guardian
13
He could hide those jaded eyes, and play the ingenue.
Danse Macabre
14
Aleta had an ingenue part now at the Alcazar.
Port O' Gold / A History-Romance of the San Francisco Argonauts
15
Hepburn's ingenue beauty and well-bred charm were perfectly matched by his elegance and courtly manners.
The Guardian
16
While they are trying to break the ice with an ingenue, I'm sizing them up.
The Best Short Stories of 1921, and the Yearbook of the American...
About this term
More collocations
Ingenue through the time
Ingenue across language varieties
United Kingdom
Common