innocent

adjective in·no·cent \ ˈi-nə-sənt \

|Updated on: 14 Jul 2018

Examples: innocent in a Sentence

1 a : free from guilt or sin especially through lack of knowledge of evil : blameless

an innocent child

b : 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

c : free from legal guilt or fault; also : lawful

a wholly innocent transaction

2 a : 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

—

innocently

adverb

See innocent defined for English-language learners

See innocent defined for kids

Examples of innocent in a Sentence

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 of innocent from the Web

In an innocent-looking ’60s suburb of Reykjavik, a storm is brewing between neighbors.

— eve macsweeney, Vogue, "Under the Tree," 6 July 2018
One is the more innocent version: writers don't interrogate themselves when writing.

— ryan smith, Chicago Reader, "Film / Music / Politics Boots Riley on the ‘regular’ revolutionary messages of his radical debut film," 6 July 2018
Between them, the director and star developed three modes for Gadon: Good Grace, who is innocent; Bad Grace, who is guilty; and Neutral Grace, who is calmer, wiser, and older.

— sonia saraiya, HWD, "A Look Beneath the Veil of Alias Grace’s Showstopping Hypnotism," 25 June 2018
Explanations, of course, are not excuses: the cruel reality in 2018 Saudi society is that some women are moving forward at the expense of innocent others.

— rafia zakaria, The New Republic, "Driving Toward Change," 23 June 2018
Curran was in the room, but appeared innocent of the insults her spirit was delivering to the prestigious doctor.

— joy lanzendorfer, Longreads, "Ghost Writer: The Story of Patience Worth, the Posthumous Author," 14 June 2018
Now and Then There’s nothing like an innocent, slightly angsty film about four best friends who are just becoming teenagers, but still love a treehouse hangout.

— kaitlyn yarborough, Southern Living, "The Best Summer Movies of All Time," 12 June 2018
Last night, innocent Nashvillians were terrorized by a man with an AR-15.

— the washington post, AL.com, "Travis Reinking, Nashville Waffle House shooting suspect, still at large," 23 Apr. 2018
Therefore, part of the reason that crime persists in black neighborhoods is not an overabundance of criminals but an awareness that the police are more likely to shoot, kill or brutalize innocent black people.

— michael harriot, The Root, "All Black People Are Victims of Police Brutality," 26 June 2018

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.

Origin and Etymology of innocent

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin innocent-, innocens, from in- + nocent-, nocens wicked, from present participle of nocēre to harm — more at noxious

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

innocent Synonyms

Phrases

on the level;

innocent

noun

plural innocents

: 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.

Recent Examples of innocent from the Web

He was accused of using bombs and bullets in a crusade that took the lives of innocents but never did manage to snare that Cuban leader, who died at 90 in 2016.

— frances robles, BostonGlobe.com, "Luis Posada Carriles, waged quest to oust Castro, dies at 90," 25 May 2018
His arrest allowed other groups to move into the drug trade, leading to a battle for territory and the killings of both criminals and innocents throughout the country.

— christal hayes, USA TODAY, "Thousands of immigrants pass through the southern border. Why are they fleeing their home countries?," 25 June 2018
Basquiat became famous in the early 1980s, when the idea that artists were supposed to be commercial innocents fell apart for good.

— stephen metcalf, The Atlantic, "Jean-Michel Basquiat Is Still an Enigma," 24 June 2018
Starting that with the cessation of U.S.-South Korea war games—that is, practicing the mass murder of innocents—is a good way to get the ball rolling.

— beatrice fihn, Time, "Ending War Games With South Korea Isn't a 'Stunning Concession.' It's the Best Thing to Come Out of the Summit So Far," 13 June 2018
By the time the fighting had subsided, thousands of innocents had lost their lives — including five American nuns, who Taylor’s soldiers mistakenly believed to be cooperating with the forces arrayed against them.

— jeremy roebuck, Philly.com, "Another Liberian in Delco stands trial for alleged role in brutal civil war," 11 June 2018
He was accused of using bombs and bullets in a crusade that took the lives of innocents but never did manage to snare that Cuban leader, who died at 90 in 2016.

— frances robles, BostonGlobe.com, "Luis Posada Carriles, waged quest to oust Castro, dies at 90," 25 May 2018
He was accused of using bombs and bullets in a crusade that took the lives of innocents but never did manage to snare that Cuban leader, who died at 90 in 2016.

— frances robles, BostonGlobe.com, "Luis Posada Carriles, waged quest to oust Castro, dies at 90," 25 May 2018
Meanwhile, on Thursday Australia and the Netherlands formally named Russia as the culprit that downed Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, killing 298 innocents in 2014.

— the editorial board, WSJ, "A Crackdown on Russian Money," 25 May 2018

First Known Use of innocent

14th century

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

innocent Synonyms

Synonyms

angel, dove, lamb, sheep;

Antonyms

wolf;

Near Antonyms

bully, roughneck, rowdy, tough;

beast, boor, cad, churl, clown, creep, cretin, cur, heel, jerk, joker, louse, lout, slob;

shark, skunk, snake, stinker;

devil, knave, miscreant, no-good, rapscallion, rascal, reprobate, rogue, scalawag (or scallywag), scamp, scoundrel, varlet, villain;

cherub, saint;

mollycoddle, sissy, softy (or softie), weakling, wimp;

dupe, pigeon, sap, sucker;

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)