artlessly
artlessly — adverb
1. behaving or speaking in a natural, honest way, without trying to hide your true
behaving or speaking in a natural, honest way, without trying to hide your true feelings or intentions, often because it does not occur to you to be anything other than straightforward.
Justin artlessly admitted that he had never heard of the famous author.
artlessly admitted — verb of revealing
Sayaka artlessly described her own painting as 'just a few messy lines.'
artlessly described — verb of explaining
The old fisherman artlessly told the children how he once got lost at sea.
Mira artlessly asked whether the famous singer ever got nervous on stage.
Folake artlessly confessed that she found the maths homework harder than she had expected.
- guilelessly
similar meaning but slightly more literary; emphasises freedom from deceit
- naively
implies a childlike lack of worldly experience; can carry a more critical tone
- candidly
stresses frankness and openness, but allows for conscious choice to be honest
- innocently
suggests pure intentions and lack of awareness of wrongdoing or social pressure
- artfully
implies cleverness and skill in achieving a purpose, sometimes through deception
- cunningly
stronger negative connotation — suggests deliberate trickery
- disingenuously
describes pretending to be honest while actually hiding the truth
文法句型
artlessly + verb (said/admitted/confessed/described)
用法筆記
Frequently pairs with verbs of speaking or revealing: admit, confess, describe, tell, ask, reply. The adverb carries a tone of warm admiration — the speaker is seen as refreshingly free from pretence, not as naive or foolish.