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.
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.
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.
4. Ingenious. [Obs.] Shak.
&fist; (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. -- 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.
