ingenuous



From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:


Ingenuous \In*gen"u*ous\, a. [L. ingenuus inborn, innate,
   freeborn, noble, frank; pref. in- in + the root of gignere to
   beget. See Genius, and cf. Ingenious.]
   1. Of honorable extraction; freeborn; noble; as, ingenuous
      blood of birth.
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   2. Noble; generous; magnanimous; honorable; upright;
      high-minded; as, an ingenuous ardor or zeal.
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            If an ingenuous detestation of falsehood be but
            carefully and early instilled, that is the true and
            genuine method to obviate dishonesty. --Locke.
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   3. Free from reserve, disguise, equivocation, or
      dissimulation; open; frank; as, an ingenuous man; an
      ingenuous declaration, confession, etc.
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            Sensible in myself . . . what a burden it is for me,
            who would be ingenuous, to be loaded with courtesies
            which he hath not the least hope to requite or
            deserve.                              --Fuller.
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   4. Ingenious. [Obs.] --Shak.
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   Note: (Formerly) printers did not discriminate between . . .
         ingenuous and ingenious, and these words were used or
         rather printed interchangeably almost to the beginning
         of the eighteenth century. --G. P. Marsh.

   Syn: Open; frank; unreserved; artless; plain; sincere;
        candid; fair; noble; generous.

   Usage: Ingenuous, Open, Frank. One who is open speaks
          out at once what is uppermost in his mind; one who is
          frank does it from a natural boldness, or dislike of
          self-restraint; one who is ingenuous is actuated by a
          native simplicity and artlessness, which make him
          willing to confess faults, and make known his
          sentiments without reserve. See Candid.
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