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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 (gcide)

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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