Naivest

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Displaying the most profound lack of experience or sophistication in thought, this term represents an individual characterized by childlike simplicity and extreme credulity
2. Having the highest degree of innocence and a tendency to believe too easily without suspicion
3. Exhibiting the utmost simplicity and inexperience, often leading to unquestioning trust

Etymology: "Naivest" is the superlative of "naive", so it means most innocently trusting, and its history is that of the adjective itself. English took "naive" from French, where the masculine form "naïf" was applied to a person and the feminine "naïve" was used for a woman or a feminine noun. The French forms descend from Latin "nātīvus", meaning "native" or "natural", which is also the source of the English word "native". The two words are doublets, two forms of the same Latin root that entered English by different routes. The journey from "natural" to "innocent" is the surprising part. A thing that is native is in its natural state, unaltered by art or sophistication, and that sense of being untouched by the world carried over into describing people. Someone who was simple or unpolished in manner could be called naive in that unworldly sense, and the emphasis gradually settled on trusting innocence rather than simplicity.

Synonyms: most innocent, most gullible, most simple-minded, most unsophisticated, most trusting

Antonyms: sophisticated, cynical, worldly, shrewd, discerning