1
as in pure
free from sin
an innocent baby
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in acquitted
free from guilt or blame
the robbery suspect was eventually found to be innocent
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in unaffected
free from any intent to deceive or impress others
an innocent offer to sing before the gathering
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in naive
lacking in worldly wisdom or informed judgment
an innocent young woman who felt a little out of place among her more sophisticated roommates
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in harmless
not causing or being capable of causing injury or hurt
good-natured teasing that is just innocent fun
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
6
as in ignorant
not informed about or aware of something
a woman who seems entirely innocent of good manners and common courtesy
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in angel
an innocent or gentle person
an innocent who is often puzzled by and prey to the evils of the world
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of innocent
Michael Loria, USA Today, 16 Oct. 2025
Chicago's Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, both Democrats, have spoken out against the nature of DHS's efforts, raising concerns that innocent people, including American citizens, are being caught up in the operation.
—Dan Gooding, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Oct. 2025
Jenny Wiegand, Outside, 27 Aug. 2025
Thus, the probability of innocents being killed or wounded in these deployments is high.
—Jason Ma, Fortune, 25 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for innocent
Adjective
Critics say innocent people are targeted and that Homeland Security’s aggressive tactics have upended life for many people in the region.
—Michael Loria, USA Today, 16 Oct. 2025
Chicago's Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, both Democrats, have spoken out against the nature of DHS's efforts, raising concerns that innocent people, including American citizens, are being caught up in the operation.
—Dan Gooding, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Oct. 2025
Noun
After a new kind of dawn patrol to remove our tired but awake—and vocal—kids from the innocents in the campsites around us, my husband and I called uncle.
—Jenny Wiegand, Outside, 27 Aug. 2025
Thus, the probability of innocents being killed or wounded in these deployments is high.
—Jason Ma, Fortune, 25 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for innocent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for innocent
Adjective
-
The 3,479,500 copies in pure album sales for the first week set a record on Billboard’s sales chart, of course.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
13 Oct. 2025
-
When there's no thesis or insight, this series feels dangerously close to pure exploitation of a tragedy real people have endured.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
13 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Other mail services should be largely unaffected.—
MSNBC Newsweek,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Oct. 2025
-
That leaves Wednesday’s release of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s last policy meeting as the main economic report to watch in the coming week as the central bank is self-funded and unaffected by the shutdown.—
Danny Bakst,
Fortune,
6 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Trump isn’t naive and knows that Netanyahu has incentives to preserve electoral support by remaining a wartime leader.—
Faisal J. Abbas,
semafor.com,
16 Oct. 2025
-
Gabber’s got this naive brutality to it.—
Alma Rota,
Rolling Stone,
14 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
There is a specific kind of yearning involved in having a crush, one that feels intense, yet is for the most part harmless fun; still, as people grow older the frequency of such infatuations often decreases.—
Melissa Fleur Afshar,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Oct. 2025
-
The email looked completely harmless.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
18 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The pilot has moments both sweet and funny, and sets up the possibility of romance amongst the characters, as well as further high jinks from a rotating cast of license seekers and citizens ignorant of the requirements for a Real ID.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
11 Oct. 2025
-
At the time, central Appalachia was widely depicted in the popular press as a backward, ignorant region whose mountainous terrain kept its people isolated, outside the flow of progress – a stereotype still common today.—
The Conversation,
The Conversation,
7 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Ratajkowski was given angel wings for her debut, shaped like an orchid flower.—
Lauryn Overhultz,
FOXNews.com,
18 Oct. 2025
-
Watching over Arj is an angel named Gabriel, whose duty is to keep people who text and drive from getting in a wreck.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
17 Oct. 2025
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
Adjective
-
Investors and regulators should adopt transparent, comparable metrics so capital rewards genuine impact, not greenwash.—
Olivier Wenden,
Fortune,
14 Oct. 2025
-
There has never been a genuine internal reckoning with Palestinian political failures.—
Mohammed R. Mhawish,
New Yorker,
14 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Innocent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/innocent. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share