Definition of "ingénue" [ingenue]

• An innocent, unsophisticated, naïve, wholesome girl or young woman. (noun)
• A dramatic role of such a woman; an actress playing such a role. (noun)

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• "As always, the ingenue was a docile, saintly (with one slip) place-holder, but Elena Shaddow, who was the girl in The Light in the Piazza did her level best with her, and has a lovely, clear voice."
• "But you can bet they're wishing that their ingenue was a little less ripe and a lot more bashful:"
• "Fifty years ago, that stage was the Met, the opera was Don Giovanni, and the ingenue was a 19-year-old soprano from the Bronx, Roberta Peters."