innocent

[ in-uh-suhnt ]

/ ˈɪn ə sənt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR innocent ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

free from moral wrong; without sin; pure: innocent children.

free from legal or specific wrong; guiltless: innocent of the crime.

not involving evil intent or motive: an innocent misrepresentation.

not causing physical or moral injury; harmless: innocent fun.

devoid (usually followed by of): a law innocent of merit.

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

uninformed or unaware; ignorant.

noun

an innocent person.

a young child.

a guileless person.

a simpleton or idiot.

Usually innocents. (used with a singular verb) bluet(def 1).

Nearby words

Origin of innocent

1150–1200; Middle English < Latin innocent- (stem of innocēns) harmless, equivalent to in- in-³ + nocēns present participle of nocēre to harm; see -ent; cf. noxious

SYNONYMS FOR innocent

1. sinless, virtuous; faultless, impeccable, spotless, immaculate. 2. 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. 6. simple, naive, unsophisticated, artless.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR innocent ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR innocent

1, 2. guilty.

SEE MORE ANTONYMS FOR innocent ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

in·no·cent·ly, adverbqua·si-in·no·cent, adjectivequa·si-in·no·cent·ly, adverbsu·per·in·no·cent, adjective

su·per·in·no·cent·ly, adverbun·in·no·cent, adjectiveun·in·no·cent·ly, adverb

Can be confusedacquitted innocent nolo contendere (see synonym study at the current entry)innocence innocents

Innocent I

[ in-uh-suh nt ]

/ ˈɪn ə sənt /

noun

Saint,died a.d. 417, Italian ecclesiastic: pope 401–417.

Innocent II

noun

Gregorio Papareschi, died 1143, Italian ecclesiastic: pope 1130–43.

Innocent III

noun

Giovanni Lotario de' Conti, 1161?–1216, Italian ecclesiastic: pope 1198–1216.

Innocent IV

noun

Sinbaldo de Fieschi, c1180–1254, Italian ecclesiastic: pope 1243–54.

Innocent V

noun

Pierre de Tarentaise, c1225–76, French ecclesiastic: pope 1276.

Innocent VI

noun

Étienne Aubert, died 1362, French jurist and ecclesiastic: pope 1352–62.

Innocent VII

noun

Cosimo de' Migliorati, 1336–1406, Italian ecclesiastic: pope 1404–06.

Innocent VIII

noun

Giovanni Battista Cibò, 1432–92, Italian ecclesiastic: pope 1484–92.

Innocent IX

noun

Giovanni Antonio Facchinetti, 1519–91, Italian ecclesiastic: pope 1591.

Innocent X

noun

Giambattista Pamfili, 1574–1655, Italian ecclesiastic: pope 1644–55.

Innocent XI

noun

Benedetto Odescalchi, 1611–89, Italian ecclesiastic: pope 1676–89.

Innocent XII

noun

Antonio Pignatelli, 1615–1700, Italian ecclesiastic: pope 1691–1700.

Innocent XIII

noun

Michelangelo Conti, 1655–1724, Italian ecclesiastic: pope 1721–24.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for innocent

There is just no way of selling this picture with an innocent defense like, “she just asked for a snap.”
Buckingham Palace Disputes Sex Allegations Against Prince ‘Randy Andy’|Tom Sykes|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Denied parole nine straight times, he insists he is innocent of the crime for which he was convicted.
His First Day Out Of Jail After 40 Years: Adjusting To Life Outside|Justin Rohrlich|January 3, 2015|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.
Adnan Killed Her! No, Jay Did It! Serial’s Uncertain, True-to-Reality End|Emily Shire|December 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“They are innocent of the charges leveled against them,” a statement issued by Farmer, who also represents the accused, said.
Beaten By His Church for Being Gay|Justin Jones|December 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Random House is also covering the legal fees of an innocent man called Barry who was caught up in the storm.
The Right's Rape Trolls vs. Lena Dunham|Emily Shire|December 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Now that the storm was over, it was a pure and innocent happiness to be with him.
The White Sister|F. Marion Crawford
All these are natural expressions of innocent gaiety and youthful elasticity of spirits, whereof this world sees far too little.
Glances at Europe|Horace Greeley
The thirteen-year-old brow is puckered with anguish, the child-face pale with dread, tear after tear falls from the innocent eyes.
Stories and Pictures|Isaac Loeb Peretz
Her eyes sparkled, her cheeks glowed—she seemed the epitome of innocent, happy girlhood.
Patchwork|Anna Balmer Myers
The man was innocent of any evil intent on this occasion, but Ravenshaw would have quarrelled with an angel just then.
The Red Man's Revenge|R.M. Ballantyne

British Dictionary definitions for innocent

innocent

/ (ˈɪnəsənt) /

adjective

not corrupted or tainted with evil or unpleasant emotion; sinless; pure

not guilty of a particular crime; blameless

(postpositive foll by of) free (of); lackinginnocent of all knowledge of history

harmless or innocuousan innocent game
not cancerousan innocent tumour

credulous, naive, or artless

simple-minded; slow-witted

noun

an innocent person, esp a young child or an ingenuous adult

a simple-minded person; simpleton

Derived Formsinnocently, adverb

Innocent II

noun

original name Gregorio Papareschi. died 1143, pope (1130–43). He condemned Abelard's teachings

Innocent III

noun

original name Giovanni Lotario de' Conti. ?1161–1216, pope (1198–1216), under whom the temporal power of the papacy reached its height. He instituted the Fourth Crusade (1202) and a crusade against the Albigenses (1208), and called the fourth Lateran Council (1215)

Innocent IV

noun

original name Sinibaldo de' Fieschi. died 1254, pope (1243–54); an unrelenting enemy of Emperor Frederick II and his heirs

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for innocent

innocent

adj.

mid-14c., "doing no evil, free from sin or guilt," from Old French inocent "harmless; not guilty; pure" (11c.), from Latin innocentem (nominative innocens) "not guilty, harmless, blameless," from in- "not" (see in- (1)) + nocentem (nominative nocens), present participle of nocere "to harm" (see noxious). Meaning "free from guilt of a specific crime or charge" is from late 14c. The earliest use was as a noun, "person who is innocent of sin or evil" (c.1200). The Holy Innocents (early 14c.) were the young children slain by Herod sfter the birth of Jesus (Matt. ii:16).

Medicine definitions for innocent

innocent

[ ĭn′ə-sənt ]

adj.

Not apparently harmful; benign.

innocent

adjective

noun

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of innocent

Innocent I

noun

Innocent II

noun

Innocent III

noun

Innocent IV

noun

Innocent V

noun

Innocent VI

noun

Innocent VII

noun

Innocent VIII

noun

Innocent IX

noun

Innocent X

noun

Innocent XI

noun

Innocent XII

noun

Innocent XIII

noun

Examples from the Web for innocent

innocent

adjective

noun

Innocent II

noun

Innocent III

noun

Innocent IV

noun

innocent

innocent

adj.