Uncritical

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Accepting ideas or information without questioning, analyzing, or evaluating their validity or truth
2. Characterized by a readiness to accept opinions without question, this attitude implies a lack of critical assessment towards information or beliefs, indicating a tendency to embrace assertions without skepticism
3. Showing a tendency to accept ideas or statements without careful scrutiny or doubt

Etymology: "Uncritical" is a plain formation: the prefix "un-", meaning "not", attached to "critical." The more interesting history lies in "critical" itself, which has moved a long way from its original sense. It comes from Latin "criticus," borrowed from Greek "kritikos," meaning "able to discern or judge," and that Greek adjective grew from "krinein," "to separate, decide, judge." Its earliest English sense was about the act of judging, a fitting origin for a word now used for finding fault. The "un-" prefix is Old English in origin, inherited from Germanic and ultimately from the same root as the English "not," so "uncritical" simply means "not critical" in the older sense: not making judgments, accepting things without question. Because "critical" gained its sense of "finding fault" in English usage, "uncritical" has come to describe acceptance that lacks scrutiny rather than a neutral absence of judgment.

Synonyms: unquestioning, naive

Antonyms: critical, judgmental