These two adjectives have quite different meanings. They should be easy to remember because ingenious is related to genius, while ingenuous is related to genuine.
Ingenious means “very clever.” Clever is not the same as intelligent. It implies creativity and efficiency, but not necessarily the ability to score high on an IQ test:
His solution to the problem was ingenious—simple, unexpected, and successful.
Both people and actions can be called ingenious.
Ingenuous, on the other hand, means “not genuine” in the sense of “not sincere”:
His apology seemed ingenuous because he did not look me in the eyes.
In other words, ingenuous means “fake” for personal actions. We might say that a performance or a promise seems ingenuous.
More Examples of How to Use "Ingenious" in a Sentence
- There was an ingenious solution to the backup problem, but no one could put it into practical use.
- Although he had been good with numbers as a child, he wasn't inclined to believe the ingenious algorithm would work since he wasn't the one who had come up with it.
- The fact that a self-driving car can avoid accidents is an ingenious example of technology saving lives.
- The ingenious new accountant noticed concerning discrepancies in the numbers when he analyzed the company’s financial records.
- I was baffled by the ingeniousness of the little girl's invention.
- The ingenious scientist persuaded the government to fund his project.
More Examples of How to Use "Ingenuous" in a Sentence
- John’s ingenuousness was refreshing, and I found myself drawn to him immediately.
- What took us by surprise was the ingenuous nature of his actions, despite his reputation as a savvy shark in the business world.
- An ingenuous person is more likely to get scammed or robbed than a more street-smart person.
- My neighbor, Hugo, was so ingenuous that he would buy anything from anyone, even when he couldn’t afford it—I felt the need to protect him from door-to-door salespeople.
- After getting burned a few times, I became less ingenuous and started to question people's motives.