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definitions

innocent

[in-uh-suhnt]
See more synonyms for innocent on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. free from moral wrong; without sin; pure: innocent children.
  2. free from legal or specific wrong; guiltless: innocent of the crime.
  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.
  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).

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

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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. 2018

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

Historical Examples of innocents

British Dictionary definitions for innocents

innocent

adjective
  1. not corrupted or tainted with evil or unpleasant emotion; sinless; pure
  2. not guilty of a particular crime; blameless
  3. (postpositive foll by of) free (of); lackinginnocent of all knowledge of history
    1. harmless or innocuousan innocent game
    2. not cancerousan 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 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).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
innocents in Medicine

innocent

[ĭn′ə-sənt]
adj.
  1. Not apparently harmful; benign.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.