innocent

adjective

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in·no·cent | \ ˈi-nə-sənt

Definition of innocent

(Entry 1 of 3)

1a : free from legal guilt or fault also : lawful a wholly innocent transaction

b : free from guilt or sin especially through lack of knowledge of evil : blameless an innocent child

c : harmless in effect or intention … searching for a hidden motive in even the most innocent conversation.— Leonard Wibberley also : candid gave me an innocent gaze

2a : lacking or reflecting a lack of sophistication, guile, or self-consciousness : artless, ingenuous

b : ignorant … almost entirely innocent of Latin.— C. L. Wrenn also : unaware … perfectly innocent of the confusion he had created … — B. R. Haydon

3 : lacking or deprived of something … her face innocent of cosmetics …— Marcia Davenport

innocent

noun

plural innocents

Definition of innocent (Entry 2 of 3)

: a person who is innocent: such as

a : a person free from sin : a young child the biblical massacre/slaughter of the innocents

b : a naïve, inexperienced, or unsophisticated person a political innocent … during a great land boom in which immense fortunes were made and innocents like himself fleeced.— Arthur Miller

c : a blameless person : a person who does not deserve to be harmed The war caused the death of thousands of innocents.

Innocent

biographical name

In·no·cent | \ ˈi-nə-sənt

Definition of Innocent (Entry 3 of 3)

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)

Other Words from innocent Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More About innocent

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Synonyms & Antonyms for innocent

Synonyms: Adjective

Synonyms: Noun

Antonyms: Adjective

Antonyms: Noun

wolf

Examples of innocent in a Sentence

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: Adjective When crimes against the innocent are perpetuated by those spiritually entrusted to edify and protect the faithful, the damage is all the more devastating and its reverberation is wide and long. — Father Edward Beck, CNN, 6 Oct. 2021 The core story of the novel and films is a comedy of manners that explores high society and the corruption of the innocent. — Dan Heching, PEOPLE.com, 2 Oct. 2021 For years, members of the task force used their positions to steal money and drugs from citizens, and waged a campaign of deception that included planting evidence to incriminate the innocent. — Christine Condon, baltimoresun.com, 29 Sep. 2021 They are facilitated through false rumors and innuendos, and all the while the perpetrator acts as the innocent. — Howard Rosen, Forbes, 27 Sep. 2021 Within the narrative world of Star Wars, to be a member of the Jedi is seemingly to be a paragon of goodness, a principled guardian of order and protector of the innocent. — J. W. Hammond, Scientific American, 22 Sep. 2021 Unpopular opinion: Clowns can look sweet and innocent. — Sara Miranda, Allure, 21 Sep. 2021 Krause said his run against Paxton was not about whether the incumbent is guilty or innocent of the allegations against him, but his effectiveness as attorney general. — Dallas News, 16 Sep. 2021 Soprano Maria Elena Altany is the Bird Mother, innocent, enigmatic, ever so slightly Masina-like. — Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2021 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Most of the novel takes place in a shack where the child was killed and where the man goes to confront God about an ancient question: How can a loving and all-powerful God allow the innocent to suffer? — Crocker Stephenson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 24 Aug. 2021 Rye is a shy romantic—the quintessential innocent destined to be wised up by novel’s end. — Maureen Corrigan, WSJ, 23 Oct. 2020 With his friends surrounded and needing a distraction, Strand found one in Sanjay, stabbing the innocent in the leg and pushing him toward the zombies as an offering of fresh meat. — Dalton Ross, EW.com, 19 Oct. 2020 And that raises the question of whether the attack against such innocents might prove to be a tipping point that galvanizes Afghans seeking a way out of war. — Scott Peterson, The Christian Science Monitor, 15 May 2020 Others wrestle with how God could allow innocents to suffer. — Irving Greenberg, WSJ, 28 May 2020 Siddiqi said the killing of innocents is completely forbidden under Islam, with the preservation of human life being of the utmost importance. — Lorraine Longhi, azcentral, 9 May 2020 Paxton Winters' Pacified, an intimate snapshot of one high-risk shantytown community seen through the wide-open eyes of a 13-year-old girl, reverses that push by humanizing its subjects — from the drug lords to the innocents caught in their web. — David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Apr. 2020 Too many innocents too often caught in the line of deadly fire. — Roy S. Johnson | Rjohnson@al.com, al, 11 Feb. 2020

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.