innocent
Americanadjective
-
free from moral wrong; without sin; pure.
innocent children.
- Synonyms:
- immaculate, spotless, impeccable, faultless, virtuous, sinless
- Antonyms:
- guilty
-
free from legal or specific wrong; guiltless.
innocent of the crime.
- Antonyms:
- guilty
-
not involving evil intent or motive.
an innocent misrepresentation.
-
not causing physical or moral injury; harmless.
innocent fun.
-
devoid (usually followed byof ).
a law innocent of merit.
-
having or showing the simplicity or naiveté of an unworldly person; guileless; ingenuous.
- Synonyms:
- artless, unsophisticated, naive, simple
-
uninformed or unaware; ignorant.
noun
-
innocents
plural
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an innocent person.
-
a young child.
-
a guileless person.
-
a simpleton or idiot.
-
(used with a singular verb) Usually innocents. bluet.
adjective
-
not corrupted or tainted with evil or unpleasant emotion; sinless; pure
-
not guilty of a particular crime; blameless
-
free (of); lacking
innocent of all knowledge of history
-
-
harmless or innocuous
an innocent game
-
not cancerous
an 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
Synonym Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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quasi-innocentadjective
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superinnocentadjective
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uninnocentadjective
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innocentlyadverb
-
quasi-innocentlyadverb
-
superinnocentlyadverb
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uninnocentlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of innocent
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”; see -ent; cf. noxious
Explanation
You may think your fluffy white cat is just an innocent, or harmless, little kitty, but she shows no mercy when attacking that toy mouse. Innocent is an adjective that describes someone or something that is not harmful or at least doesn’t cause harm on purpose. It can also be used when talking about a person who did not commit a crime. “Innocent until proven guilty” is a phrase that means people who have been accused of a crime should be considered innocent, or free of blame, unless a judge or jury decides that they are officially guilty.
Vocabulary lists containing innocent
Anti-Antonyms: Words Without Opposites
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"The Scholarship Jacket" by Marta Salinas
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Beowulf vocabulary
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Edney conceded there was "no evidence" that the jurors had communicated with anyone else, but said innocent contact - even just seeing the detective or solicitors - could have resulted in "subconscious influence".
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
Reiner has pleaded not guilty to the stabbings and remains legally innocent unless he changes his plea or is convicted by a jury.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
“There was a teacher in Bell County, just an innocent teacher who put up a Linus cartoon over Christmas that said ‘Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.’
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026
And a 2021 Pew poll found that 78 percent of its respondents believe “there is some risk that an innocent person will be put to death.”
From Slate ● Aug. 13, 2026
Next, Booth visited a boardinghouse on H Street, a few blocks from Ford’s Theatre, to pay what looked like an innocent social call on the owner.
From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson
"This land has paid a heavy price. It has seen many of its children buried. It has borne witness to the suffering of children and innocents," added the leader of the world's Roman Catholics.
From Barron's ● May 23, 2026
The film’s sheep are complete innocents, who can make themselves forget sad events by closing their eyes and counting to three.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
It’s unfortunate that innocents are being swept up in mass immigration raids.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2025
It also asked police to stop harassing innocents.
From BBC ● May 28, 2025
Their battle will be waged not against the Erudite- Dauntless army but against Erudite innocents and the knowledge they have worked so hard to acquire.”
From "Insurgent" by Veronica Roth
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
