guileless
/ˈɡʌɪlləs
/adjective
Devoid of guile; innocent and without deception: his face, once so open and guileless...
- And Elizabeth is about the most innocent, guileless, angelic little girl you've ever met.
- That the Third World was born guileless and innocent only to be brutalised by the West is a popular slogan in many parts of the world.
- It seemed like a heavy responsibility to place upon an innocent, guileless ukulele.
Synonyms
artless, ingenuous, open, honest, sincere, genuine, naive, natural, simple, childlike, innocent, unsophisticated, unworldly, unsuspicious, trustful, trusting;
honourable, truthful, frank, candid, straightforward, forthright, unaffected, unpretentious;
North American on the up and up
Derivatives
guilelessly
/ adverb ...- ‘I read everything that is written about me,’ she says, guilelessly.
- She is also interesting, witty, opinionated, informed, guilelessly plain speaking, and quite devoid of any of the self-important pomp that one might expect from someone in her position.
- ‘God cannot abide sin,’ he explains guilelessly to Read.
guilelessness
/ noun ...- But in its charming guilelessness, its unabashed reverence for traditional country music and its sepia-tinged balladry, it is surely one of the best records of the year thus far.
- Two anecdotes reflect the maestro's engaging guilelessness.
- The sheer guilelessness of that is hard not to enjoy and excuse.