as in innocent
free from guilt or blame
if the jury acquits him, he is guiltless in the eyes of the law
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in innocency
the quality or state of being free from guilt or blame
her guiltlessness is obvious, since she couldn't possibly have been at the scene of the crime
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of guiltless
Alexei Navalny, The New Yorker, 11 Oct. 2024
Many fans found its generally joyous treatment of Miranda’s guiltless affair with Che, a nonbinary comedian, in the first season off-putting.
—Lili Loofbourow, Washington Post, 21 June 2023
In the wake of Franco’s death, in 1975, came the pacto del olvido, or pact of oblivion—a determination, enshrined in the Amnesty Law of 1977, to brush away the vestiges of former crimes and hence to move onward with a guiltless transition to democracy.
—Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 24 Dec. 2021
So hats (halos?) off to you, Mr. Woolverton, and may the binge-watching, pint-guzzling, relatively guiltless movie marathons commence.
—Susie Neilson, The Cut, 21 Aug. 2017
Adjective
And how many guiltless prisoners there are here!
—Alexei Navalny, The New Yorker, 11 Oct. 2024
Many fans found its generally joyous treatment of Miranda’s guiltless affair with Che, a nonbinary comedian, in the first season off-putting.
—Lili Loofbourow, Washington Post, 21 June 2023
In the wake of Franco’s death, in 1975, came the pacto del olvido, or pact of oblivion—a determination, enshrined in the Amnesty Law of 1977, to brush away the vestiges of former crimes and hence to move onward with a guiltless transition to democracy.
—Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 24 Dec. 2021
So hats (halos?) off to you, Mr. Woolverton, and may the binge-watching, pint-guzzling, relatively guiltless movie marathons commence.
—Susie Neilson, The Cut, 21 Aug. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for guiltless
Adjective
-
On July 8, U.S. soldiers escorting a train fired at crowds in Hammond, killing an innocent bystander.—
Robert Loerzel,
Chicago Tribune,
22 June 2025
-
Night in West Texas is a probing look at the cracks in the American justice system and how one innocent man so easily slipped through them.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
21 June 2025
Noun
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Many of those charged protest their innocence vehemently, but since anti-doping agencies apply strict liability principles and apportion responsibility irrespective of intent, the consequences hit hard.—
Phil Hay,
New York Times,
20 June 2025
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Foxx’s office later withdrew opposition to their certificates of innocence, enabling their lawyers to use these certificates as evidence in lawsuits against the police.—
Paul Vallas,
Chicago Tribune,
20 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Guiltless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/guiltless. Accessed 6 Jul. 2025.
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