innocent

[ in-uh-suhnt ]

adjective

1. free from moral wrong; without sin; pure:

   innocent children.

   Synonyms: immaculate, spotless, impeccable, faultless, virtuous, sinless

   Antonyms: guilty

2. free from legal or specific wrong; guiltless:

   innocent of the crime.

   Antonyms: guilty

3. not involving evil intent or motive:

   an innocent misrepresentation.

4. not causing physical or moral injury; harmless:

   innocent fun.

5. devoid (usually followed by of ):

   a law innocent of merit.

6. having or showing the simplicity or naiveté of an unworldly person; guileless; ingenuous.

   Synonyms: artless, unsophisticated, naive, simple

7. uninformed or unaware; ignorant.

noun

1. an innocent person.
2. a young child.
3. a guileless person.
4. a simpleton or idiot.
5. Usually innocents. (used with a singular verb) bluet ( def 1 ).

innocent

/ ˈɪnəsənt /

adjective

1. not corrupted or tainted with evil or unpleasant emotion; sinless; pure
2. not guilty of a particular crime; blameless
3. postpositivefoll byof free (of); lacking

   innocent of all knowledge of history

4. 1. harmless or innocuous

      an innocent game

   2. not cancerous

      an innocent tumour

5. credulous, naive, or artless
6. simple-minded; slow-witted

noun

1. an innocent person, esp a young child or an ingenuous adult
2. a simple-minded person; simpleton

Derived Forms

• ˈinnocently, adverb

Other Words From

• inno·cent·ly adverb
• quasi-inno·cent adjective
• quasi-inno·cent·ly adverb
• super·inno·cent adjective
• super·inno·cent·ly adverb
• un·inno·cent adjective
• un·inno·cent·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of innocent¹

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English, from Latin innocent- (stem of innocēns ) “harmless,” equivalent to in- in- ³ + nocēns present participle of nocēre “to harm”; -ent; noxious

Synonym Study

Innocent, blameless, guiltless imply freedom from the responsibility of having done wrong. Innocent may imply having done no wrong at any time, and having not even a knowledge of evil: an innocent victim. Blameless denotes freedom from blame, especially moral blame: a blameless life. Guiltless denotes freedom from guilt or responsibility for wrongdoing, usually in a particular instance: guiltless of a crime.

Example Sentences

Two innocent people were publicly named as the attacker — a marketing executive and a retired police captain.

From Washington Post

Eighty-seven percent of those accused were eventually found to be innocent.

From Washington Post

Russell Westbrook, the terrifyingly athletic stat-stuffer who seems to hurt innocent rims for no apparent reason.

From FiveThirtyEight

Most presidents in real life and in games have stained their hands with the blood of innocents, and Sonic the Hedgehog’s president is no different.

From Washington Post

There’s probably a mixture of kind of innocent people swept along and people who were hardcore organizers knowing exactly what they wanted to do.

From Ozy

There is just no way of selling this picture with an innocent defense like, “she just asked for a snap.”

From The Daily Beast

Denied parole nine straight times, he insists he is innocent of the crime for which he was convicted.

From The Daily Beast

I was declared innocent, and they said I should pay $104,000.

From The Daily Beast

The Butterbrief, issued by Pope Innocent VIII, was a turning point for the then bland Stollen, which gradually became sweeter.

From The Daily Beast

Koenig must know by now that second to knowing if Adnan is innocent, we want to know if she thinks Adnan is innocent.

From The Daily Beast

The mother's lips could not finish the charge she was about to put upon her innocent child.

From Project Gutenberg

But green Chartreuse unhappily is not innocent; it is more than a spirit, it is a powerful drug.

From Project Gutenberg

They used to believe in witchcraft, and they burned millions—yes, millions—of innocent women as witches.

From Project Gutenberg

Blanche sat there with her little excited, yet innocent—too innocent—stare; her eyes followed Mrs. Vivian's.

From Project Gutenberg

"I wouldn't do him any harm for the world," said Mrs. Kaye, casting down her eyes and looking very young and innocent.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• childlike
• gullible
• ignorant
• innocuous
• wide-eyed