ingenue

noun

variants or ingénue
Definition of ingenuenext
as in angel
an innocent girl or young woman In her latest film she plays the part of an ingenue.

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of ingenue In wrestling terms, Ghost plays the babyface ingenue to her more jaded collaborators’ heels. — Judy Berman, Time, 15 Apr. 2026 Zendaya reinvented herself from Disney Channel ingenue into bona fide superstar with her two-time Emmy-winning performance as teen drug addict Rue in seasons 1 and 2. — Brendan Le, PEOPLE, 8 Apr. 2026 At one point, the Phantom and Christine, the ingenue and the object of his obsession, glide toward you in a gondola, crossing an underground lake. — Tribune News Service, Baltimore Sun, 3 Mar. 2026 Seen on the likes of Pamela Anderson, Ariana Grande, and most recently, Vera Wang, the micro bang was first popularized in the 1950s by film ingenues like Audrey Hepburn. — Kaleigh Werner, Footwear News, 6 Nov. 2025 See All Example Sentences for ingenue
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ingenue
  1. angel
  2. innocent
  3. virgin
  4. fledgling
  5. greenhorn
Noun
  • The shadow of Hermes is depicted with giant, dovelike wings in the style of a biblical angel.
    — Nikki McCann Ramirez, Rolling Stone, 22 July 2026
  • The Victoria’s Secret angel, 37, welcomed her second baby, a daughter named Flora Blue, with fiancé Tom Daly, sharing the exciting news and the first official photos of her newborn on Instagram.
    — Kayla Grant, PEOPLE, 22 July 2026
Definition of angel
Noun
  • Some innocents are coerced into false confessions, like what happened to the Central Park Five.
    — Rene Denfeld, PEOPLE, 21 July 2026
  • Over 5,000 deaths, most of them for innocents not driving trucks, in 2023 alone.
    — John Tamny, Forbes.com, 29 June 2026
Definition of innocent
Noun
  • Diana, a virgin born into an aristocratic family, was seen as an ideal match for the future king.
    — Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 17 July 2026
  • In another, called Leucippe and Clitophon, Leucippe is saved from being sacrificed as a virgin by the timely appearance of an actor who uses theatre tricks used to perform deaths on stage to fake her death and spirit her away.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 30 June 2026
Definition of virgin
Noun
  • The fledgling storm was affected by shearing winds that forecasters expected to prevent it from building into the kind of hurricane that can sometimes quickly develop in the Gulf just offshore.
    — N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 24 July 2026
  • The episode’s break from format puts the audience literally inside Lestat’s head as he’s confronted by his makers and his fledglings, with exception to Claudia.
    — Sabrina Reed, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026
Definition of fledgling
Noun
  • Flecks of mica and pyrite and who knows what, but only fools and greenhorns mistake it for gold.
    — John Archibald, Southern Living, 11 June 2026
  • The indestructible Gill, still strolling the fairways of the magazine, was more than welcoming to a greenhorn.
    — Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 5 May 2025
Definition of greenhorn

Browse Nearby Words

ingeniousness
ingenue
ingenues
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Cite this Entry

“Ingenue.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ingenue. Accessed 1 Aug. 2026.

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