innocent

[in-uh-suhnt]

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).

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

Related formsin·no·cent·ly, adverbqua·si-in·no·cent, adjectivequa·si-in·no·cent·ly, adverbsu·per·in·no·cent, adjectivesu·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

Synonyms for innocent

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR innocent ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

Antonyms for innocent

1, 2. guilty.

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

Related Words for innocents

martyr, fatality, casualty, sufferer, infant, toddler, adolescent, juvenile, youth, teenager, baby, kid, offspring, minor, youngster, ass, stooge, jerk, idiot, sucker

Examples from the Web for innocents

Contemporary Examples of innocents

At every turn, they described their son as a faithful follower who had dedicated his life to easing the suffering of innocents.
A 26-Year-Old Woman Is ISIS’s Last American Hostage
Shane Harris
November 17, 2014
The industry already had the blood of innocents on its hands.
Murdered for Her iPhone
Michael Daly
May 8, 2014
Kathy and Anja both always looked out for the innocents—and for reporters new to a beat, like me when I joined the AP.
Remembering My Sisters in Danger, The AP’s Anja Niedringhaus and Kathy Gannon
Kimberly Dozier
April 4, 2014
There are no innocents in Bangladeshi politics and every politician is tainted by accusations of corruption.
Bangladesh’s Radical Islamists Get U.S. Backing
Kapil Komireddi
January 12, 2014
Never mind the slaughter of innocents—this crew loves each other to pieces, bodies of dead children be damned.
Television’s Finest Schlock: The ‘Sons of Anarchy’ Episode ‘One One Six’ Is So Damn Shakespearean
Paula Szuchman
September 18, 2013

Historical Examples of innocents

Marjolin had been found in a heap of cabbages at the Market of the Innocents.
The Fat and the Thin
Emile Zola
The innocents abroad, young man,Are frightened by you twain.
The Confessions of a Caricaturist, Vol. 1 (of 2)
Harry Furniss
If this was how Lydia and Madame Beattie spent their hours of talk, let them, the innocents.
The Prisoner
Alice Brown
There was a slaughter of the innocents last month—that is, if they ever reached you.
Charles Lever, His Life in His Letters, Vol. II (of II)
Edmund Downey
I was watching the slaughter of the innocents on the tennis-court.
Garrison's Finish
W. B. M. Ferguson

British Dictionary definitions for innocents

innocent

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 innocents

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).

innocents in Medicine

innocent

[ĭn′ə-sənt]

adj.

Not apparently harmful; benign.