Ingenious - ingenuous

Do not confuse these two words. The spell checker might allow you to, so be careful.

Ingenious (pronounced in-JEAN-i-us', IPA: /ɪn 'dʒiːn jəs/) means 'very clever'. It is particularly used of cunning plans - 'an ingenious idea' - and machines or gadgets - 'an ingenious way of getting the job done'. It can also be used of the people who make or design these: 'The ingenious inventor found a solution to the problem'; 'The strategy was developed by an ingenious junior officer'. The abstract noun for the quality of being ingenious, mostly as it applies to people, is ingenuity.

Ingenuous (whose second syllable is like that in 'then', 'in-JEN-you-us', IPA: /ɪn 'dʒɛn jʊ əs/) means 'innocent', 'artless' and 'open' - with a strong implication of being too trusting. 'The new recruit was so ingenuous that he was made a victim'; 'The ingenuous child was soon taken advantage of by the bully'. The associated abstract noun is ingenuousness. There is an apparent negative, disingenuous, that is more than simply the opposite. It means something like 'deliberately trying to seem innocent in order to gain an advantage' or 'trying to deceive by seeming simple and honest'.