01 a. Of honorable extraction; freeborn; noble; as, ingenuous blood of birth.
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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.“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.“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.]
Syn.
Open; frank; unreserved; artless; plain; sincere; candid; fair; noble; generous.
-- 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.