Naive

[nah-eev] /nɑˈiv/

adjective
1.
having or showing unaffected simplicity of nature or absence of artificiality; unsophisticated; ingenuous.
2.
having or showing a lack of experience, judgment, or information; credulous:
She’s so naive she believes everything she reads. He has a very naive attitude toward politics.
3.
having or marked by a simple, unaffectedly direct style reflecting little or no formal training or technique:
valuable naive 19th-century American portrait paintings.
4.
not having previously been the subject of a scientific experiment, as an animal.
/naɪˈiːv/
adjective
1.

2.
artless or unsophisticated
3.
lacking developed powers of analysis, reasoning, or criticism: a naive argument
4.
another word for primitive (sense 5)
noun
5.
(rare) a person who is naive, esp in artistic style See primitive (sense 10)
adj.

1650s, “natural, simple, artless,” from French naïve, fem. of naïf, from Old French naif “naive, natural, genuine; just born; foolish, innocent; unspoiled, unworked” (13c.), from Latin nativus “not artificial,” also “native, rustic,” literally “born, innate, natural” (see native (adj.)). Related: Naively.

naive na·ive or na·ïve (nä-ēv’) or na·if or na·ïf (nä-ēf’)
adj.

n.
One who is artless, credulous, or uncritical.

Untutored in the perversities of some particular program or system; one who still tries to do things in an intuitive way, rather than the right way (in really good designs these coincide, but most designs aren’t “really good” in the appropriate sense). This trait is completely unrelated to general maturity or competence or even competence at any other specific program. It is a sad commentary on the primitive state of computing that the natural opposite of this term is often claimed to be “experienced user” but is really more like “cynical user”.
(1994-11-29)