ingenue

in·gé·nue

also in·ge·nue (ăN′zhə-no͞o′)

1. A naive, innocent girl or young woman.

a. The role of an ingénue in a dramatic production.

b. An actress playing such a role.

[French, feminine of ingénu, guileless, from Latin ingenuus, ingenuous; see ingenuous.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ingénue

(ˌænʒeɪˈnjuː; French ɛ̃ʒeny)

an artless, innocent, or inexperienced girl or young woman

[C19: from French, feminine of ingénu ingenuous]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

in•gé•nue

or in•ge•nue

(ˈæn ʒəˌnu, ɛ̃ˈ-)

n.

1. the role of an artless, innocent, unworldly girl or young woman, esp. as represented on the stage.

2. an actress who plays such a role or specializes in playing such roles.

[1840–50; < French, feminine of ingénu < Latin ingenuus]

ingénue

A French word meaning ingenuous person, used to mean someone who is innocent or inexperienced.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	ingenue - an actress who specializes in playing the role of an artless innocent young girl actor, histrion, thespian, role player, player - a theatrical performer
	2.	ingenue - an artless innocent young girl (especially as portrayed on the stage) juvenile, juvenile person - a young person, not fully developed
	3.	ingenue - the role of an innocent artless young woman in a play persona, theatrical role, role, character, part - an actor's portrayal of someone in a play; "she played the part of Desdemona"

ingénue

noun

A guileless, unsophisticated person:

babe, child, innocent, naive.

Idiom: babe in the woods.

Translations

ingénue

[ˌɛːnʒeɪˈnjuː] N → ingenua f

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

ingenue

ingénue [ˌænʒeɪˈnjuː] (formal) n → ingénue f

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

ingénue

n → naives Mädchen; (Theat) → Naive f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

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References in classic literature ?

"The child you were with--the ingenue, you know--with the pink cheeks and the wonderful eyes!

I didn't know that your taste ran to ingenues to such an extent.

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Quite the ingenue. Very charming--wonderfully well read for my age, but incapable--"

View in context

The fact is, the old lady believed Rebecca to be the meekest creature in the world, so admirably, on the occasions when her father brought her to Chiswick, used Rebecca to perform the part of the ingenue; and only a year before the arrangement by which Rebecca had been admitted into her house, and when Rebecca was sixteen years old, Miss Pinkerton majestically, and with a little speech, made her a present of a doll--which was, by the way, the confiscated property of Miss Swindle, discovered surreptitiously nursing it in school- hours.

View in context

Her perceptions this morning were curiously keen, and she believed that Miss Lavish had her on trial for an ingenue.

View in context

With her multiplatinum breakout album Ingenue, K.D.

A Lang time coming

Before last night's Ingenue Redux concert, celebrating the 25th anniversary of her second solo album, we dined in style at the venue's innovative new Rondo restaurant.

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Brian McIver gets your diary sorted for the week - so you don't have to Mon KD LANG The singer songwriter is playing the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall with a special show celebrating the 25th anniversary of her classic album Ingenue Redux.

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kd lang continues to celebrate the 25th anniversary of her platinum-selling breakthrough album, Ingenue, with a UK tour.

7 YOUR NEXT days; MUSIC, THEATRE, COMEDY AND MORE ... FOUR PAGES OF LISTINGS START HERE

kd Lang Aberdeen Music Hall, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, tonight, Mon The four-time Grammy and Brit award winner is celebrating the 25th anniversary of her breakthrough album, Ingenue.

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X-Files star Gillian Anderson was up for for Best Actress for her star turn in All ABOUT Eve, a role made famous by Bette Davis in the movie of the same name, about an ageing star being usurped by a scheming ingenue.

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The cast have been putting in the hours in the rehearsal room under the guidance of an experienced production team made up of director, Emma Adcock; musical director, Meng Khaw and choreographer, Nicola Scoggins - and it's a case of life imitating art as their seasoned leading man, Jonathan Penton (South Pacific, Sunset Boulevard, Sweeney Todd) in the role of Henry Higgins, is joined by newcomer to the Loughborough Town Hall stage, Abbie Cooper, as ingenue Eliza Doolittle in the role immortalised on film by Audrey Hepburn.