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in·no·cent
ˈi-nə-sənt 
1
a
: free from legal guilt or fault
b
: free from guilt or sin especially through lack of knowledge of evil : blameless
c
: harmless in effect or intention
innocently
adverb
plural innocents
: a person who is innocent: such as
Synonyms
Adjective
Noun
Example Sentences
Adjective
He says that he is innocent of the crime.
She was found innocent of all charges.
A person accused of a crime is considered innocent until proven guilty.
Someone told your secret, but it wasn't me. I'm innocent.
Recent Examples on the Web
Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 13 Jan. 2023
Police believe Takeoff was an innocent bystander to an argument that took place outside a bowling alley that led to the shooting.
—Alaa Elassar, CNN, 5 Jan. 2023
Police believe the 14-year-old fatal victim was an innocent bystander.
—Kc Baker, Peoplemag, 14 Dec. 2022
Takeoff an 'innocent bystander' before murder, two men arrested, police say Takeoff, 28, was shot in the head and back as more than 30 people were leaving a private party at the bowling alley.
—Juan A. Lozano, USA TODAY, 6 Dec. 2022
Authorities confirmed that the teen was an innocent bystander and he is expected to survive.
—Jon Haworth, ABC News, 8 Nov. 2022
By many accounts, Takeoff was an innocent bystander who lost his life in a random instance of violence after a quarrel at a party in Houston early Tuesday morning.
—Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 3 Nov. 2022
The gunfire erupted following a dispute between two women in the middle of Third Avenue North, and ended with Sills, a mother and innocent bystander, dead from a gunshot wound to the head.
—Carol Robinson | Crobinson@al.com, al, 19 Oct. 2022
Some played the victim, some played the innocent bystander, and some played the villain.
—Stacey Grant, Seventeen, 13 Oct. 2022
Joy Williams, Harper’s Magazine , 14 Dec. 2022
The fraudsters’ aim is for the innocent on the other end of the line or text to be sufficiently frightened that valuable financial information is shared.
—Dallas News, 12 July 2022
On the other hand, the intimate view of the innocent's life makes the decision-making even more agonizing for everyone involved -- and especially for Watts, the man with the finger on the trigger that launches the Hellfire missiles.
—Jeremy Hsu, Discover Magazine, 26 Feb. 2016
He was then assigned to a building in Paris where people who had been arrested by French resistance fighters were being held, to sort out the innocent from those who required investigation.
—Richard Sandomir, New York Times, 17 Sep. 2022
An audience, the playwright seems to be saying, must witness the torture that this young innocent experienced.
—Peter Marks, Washington Post, 14 Oct. 2022
Maybe their shrewd veterans can be shaken up by an untested innocent.
—Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 27 May 2022
White said investigators have yet to determine if the woman was the intended target of Tuesday's violence or an innocent who was cut down in the crossfire.
—Chris Harris, PEOPLE.com, 29 June 2022
And like so many people, I was horrified by what happened in Texas, by what happened in Buffalo, by what’s been happening, quite frankly, all over our country, in terms of gun violence against the innocent.
—Liam Hess, Vogue, 16 June 2022
See More
Adjective
Presley reportedly thought Jackson was innocent and urged him to settle the allegations outside of court and to go to rehab for his drug addiction.
—Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 13 Jan. 2023
Police believe Takeoff was an innocent bystander to an argument that took place outside a bowling alley that led to the shooting.
—Alaa Elassar, CNN, 5 Jan. 2023
Police believe the 14-year-old fatal victim was an innocent bystander.
—Kc Baker, Peoplemag, 14 Dec. 2022
Takeoff an 'innocent bystander' before murder, two men arrested, police say Takeoff, 28, was shot in the head and back as more than 30 people were leaving a private party at the bowling alley.
—Juan A. Lozano, USA TODAY, 6 Dec. 2022
Authorities confirmed that the teen was an innocent bystander and he is expected to survive.
—Jon Haworth, ABC News, 8 Nov. 2022
By many accounts, Takeoff was an innocent bystander who lost his life in a random instance of violence after a quarrel at a party in Houston early Tuesday morning.
—Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 3 Nov. 2022
The gunfire erupted following a dispute between two women in the middle of Third Avenue North, and ended with Sills, a mother and innocent bystander, dead from a gunshot wound to the head.
—Carol Robinson | Crobinson@al.com, al, 19 Oct. 2022
Some played the victim, some played the innocent bystander, and some played the villain.
—Stacey Grant, Seventeen, 13 Oct. 2022
Noun
At twelve, visitations commence from the Kid, a far cry from the feckless, murderous innocent of Blood Meridian.
—Joy Williams, Harper’s Magazine , 14 Dec. 2022
The fraudsters’ aim is for the innocent on the other end of the line or text to be sufficiently frightened that valuable financial information is shared.
—Dallas News, 12 July 2022
On the other hand, the intimate view of the innocent's life makes the decision-making even more agonizing for everyone involved -- and especially for Watts, the man with the finger on the trigger that launches the Hellfire missiles.
—Jeremy Hsu, Discover Magazine, 26 Feb. 2016
He was then assigned to a building in Paris where people who had been arrested by French resistance fighters were being held, to sort out the innocent from those who required investigation.
—Richard Sandomir, New York Times, 17 Sep. 2022
An audience, the playwright seems to be saying, must witness the torture that this young innocent experienced.
—Peter Marks, Washington Post, 14 Oct. 2022
Maybe their shrewd veterans can be shaken up by an untested innocent.
—Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 27 May 2022
White said investigators have yet to determine if the woman was the intended target of Tuesday's violence or an innocent who was cut down in the crossfire.
—Chris Harris, PEOPLE.com, 29 June 2022
And like so many people, I was horrified by what happened in Texas, by what happened in Buffalo, by what’s been happening, quite frankly, all over our country, in terms of gun violence against the innocent.
—Liam Hess, Vogue, 16 June 2022
See More
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'innocent.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Word History
Etymology
Adjective
Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin innocent-, innocens, from in- + nocent-, nocens wicked, from present participle of nocēre to harm — more at noxious
First Known Use
Adjective
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1b
Noun
14th century, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of innocent was
in the 14th century
Dictionary Entries Near innocent
Cite this Entry
“Innocent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/innocent. Accessed 28 Jan. 2023.
Kids Definition
Medical Definition
innocent
adjective
in·no·cent
ˈin-ə-sənt
: lacking capacity to injure : benign
Legal Definition
innocent
adjective
in·no·cent
ˈi-nə-sənt
: characterized by innocence
Biographical Definition
Innocent
biographical name
In·no·cent
ˈi-nə-sənt
name of 13 popes: especially II died 1143 (pope 1130–43); III 1160(or 1161)–1216 (pope 1198–1216); IV died 1254 (pope 1243–54); XI 1611–1689 (pope 1676–89)
More from Merriam-Webster on innocent
Nglish: Translation of innocent for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of innocent for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about innocent
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