guileless means free from guile; honest but naive.
guileless is pronounced /ˈɡaɪl.ləs/.
Why “guileless” is a great word
Free from guile, deceit, or cunning; sincere and straightforward, often to the point of naivete. From guile (meaning "deceitful cunning") and the suffix -less (meaning "without"), first recorded in use circa 1616–1720. Unlike artless, which suggests a natural simplicity without artifice, or ingenuous, which implies a childlike openness often marked by vulnerability, guileless denotes the profound and active absence of the very capacity for deception. It is the farmer who names his price without haggling, the hand extended in a world of hidden fists, the quiet warmth of a truth spoken because it simply is—a state of being so perfectly undefended it becomes its own subtle, perilous form of armor.
adj
- Free from guile; honest but naive.
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