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).

RELATED WORDS

kindly, politely, naively

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

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

Examples from the Web for innocently

But the entendre and innuendo permeates the rest of the series—often innocently, but sometimes far more blatantly.
‘Mozart in the Jungle’: Inside Amazon’s Brave New World of Sex, Drugs, and Classical Music|Kevin Fallon|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I innocently wrote a letter home to my mother telling her how great the French chef was in the headquarters canteen.
I Saw Nuclear Armageddon Sitting on My Desk|Clive Irving|November 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
So I would trap everyone with that, by innocently asking if they remembered what they said about Mark-Paul or Tiffani.
'Saved by the Bell' Star Dustin Diamond Doesn't Want to Be a Jerk Anymore|Kevin Fallon|August 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There was that innocently ignoble time Phoebe Buffay pretended she was a physician named Dr. Regina Phalange.
Scandal’s Lisa Kudrow on Sexism in Politics (and That Epic Rant)|Kevin Fallon|November 14, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Cosby was innocently changing his tire that night when he was robbed at gunpoint and then shot in the head.
Trayvon Martin’s Death Is Like Ennis Cosby’s|Allison Samuels|July 14, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Hitherto, said he, my life has been too much a life of gayety and action, to be busied so innocently.
Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded|Samuel Richardson
She had evidently been terribly afraid of the opinion so innocently asked by the Spaniard.
The Grey Lady|Henry Seton Merriman
Even the house detective knows that she is innocently drinking a drink.
Nonsenseorship|G. G. Putnam and Others
No man can innocently do that which he thinketh is forbidden him of God.
A Christian Directory (Part 4 of 4)|Richard Baxter
But the girl's face was so innocently frank that it would have been both ill-bred and cruel to suggest such a thing.
Helen Grant's Schooldays|Amanda M. Douglas

British Dictionary definitions for innocently

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

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 innocently (1 of 2)

innocently

adv.

c.1400, from innocent (adj.) + -ly (2).

Word Origin and History for innocently (1 of 2)

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).

innocent

adjective

noun

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RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of innocent

Examples from the Web for innocently

British Dictionary definitions for innocently

innocent

adjective

noun

Word Origin and History for innocently (1 of 2)

innocently

Word Origin and History for innocently (1 of 2)

innocent

Medicine definitions for innocently

innocent

adj.