Guilelessness

/ˈɡaɪləsnəs/ noun

Definition

The quality of being completely honest and free from deception; innocent trustworthiness.

Etymology

From guileless + -ness suffix. This noun form captures the abstract quality of innocent honesty as a characteristic or state of being, emerging alongside guileless in Early Modern English.

Kelly Says

Anthropologists notice that 'guilelessness' is actually a sign of high social trust—societies where people can afford to be genuinely guileless tend to have stronger communities and less need for defensive lying.

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