\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.
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}.