1
as in sincerely
without any attempt to impress by deception or exaggeration
"You look nice," she commented innocently
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in chastely
with purity of thought and deed
very young children approach the world so innocently
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of innocently
This game started innocently with a scoreless first period.
—
Kevin J. Farmer, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Sep. 2025
Joined by cohost Craig Melvin, the 53-year-old anchor was innocently interacting with fans at New York City's Rockefeller Plaza on Wednesday when Melvin spotted a woman holding up a poster of Guthrie sporting her '90s-era black bob.
—Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 4 Sep. 2025
Charity, 38, explained that her kids' love for sports started innocently enough.
—Daniella Gray, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Sep. 2025
While the wife’s new friendship may have started innocently, the man felt compelled to put his family’s comfort above politeness.
—Ashley Vega, People.com, 22 Aug. 2025
Now, business leaders, workers and civilians alike have all become apathetic toward their own safety, innocently forgetting that there are measures keeping them protected every single day.
—Jim Pauley, Forbes.com, 11 Aug. 2025
Kevin J. Farmer, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Sep. 2025
Joined by cohost Craig Melvin, the 53-year-old anchor was innocently interacting with fans at New York City's Rockefeller Plaza on Wednesday when Melvin spotted a woman holding up a poster of Guthrie sporting her '90s-era black bob.
—Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 4 Sep. 2025
Charity, 38, explained that her kids' love for sports started innocently enough.
—Daniella Gray, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Sep. 2025
While the wife’s new friendship may have started innocently, the man felt compelled to put his family’s comfort above politeness.
—Ashley Vega, People.com, 22 Aug. 2025
Now, business leaders, workers and civilians alike have all become apathetic toward their own safety, innocently forgetting that there are measures keeping them protected every single day.
—Jim Pauley, Forbes.com, 11 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for innocently
Adverb
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Task is especially generous with its children and teens, allowing their faces to take up the frame, as Ruffalo’s and Pelphrey’s do, and their yearnings and fears to be voiced honestly and sincerely, as Tom’s and Robbie’s are.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
5 Sep. 2025
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The woman has sincerely held Pentecostal Christian beliefs and practices the religion of Free Holiness, the complaint notes.—
Julia Marnin,
Miami Herald,
27 Aug. 2025
Adverb
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Others are new, building on a genuinely fresh and funny revelation that explains not only a cold open involving yakuza gangsters half a world away in Osaka, but also why this quaint town is sitting on a stash of weaponry big enough to overthrow the governments of several small nations.—
Katie Rife,
IndieWire,
9 Sep. 2025
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Noel, almost entirely tight-lipped through the first half of the show, mostly leaving the posturing to his younger brother, seemed genuinely emotional.—
Alex Edelman,
Rolling Stone,
8 Sep. 2025
Adverb
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In the design world, the in-between spaces—those that are neither strictly private nor purely public—are having a moment.—
John Wogan,
Robb Report,
6 Sep. 2025
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Tonight’s Kansas City Chiefs clash with the LA Chargers from São Paulo will be a purely online event on YouTube, and perhaps the kickoff to the future of football & streaming.—
Dominic Patten,
Deadline,
5 Sep. 2025
Adverb
-
Some parenting ideas such as talking openly about race and teaching kids to be proud of their culture seem helpful.—
Alvin Thomas,
The Conversation,
5 Sep. 2025
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Parents can help by learning what content their kids see online, talking openly about these pressures, and guiding them toward healthy habits and safe choices.—
Ashleigh N. DeLuca,
Parents,
4 Sep. 2025
Adverb
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Castle, who has accused the Navy of mishandling her daughter's disappearance, said during a press conference in June that her daughter's body was left exposed for days and was not properly preserved or prepared for viewing.—
Deena Zaru,
ABC News,
9 Sep. 2025
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In a Canadian industry where for years doors were mostly closed to Black talent, and financing that came through when doors opened was meagre, the BSO report urges Black content creators be properly financed to build sustainable careers and businesses.—
Etan Vlessing,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Sep. 2025
Adverb
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Many wealth management strategies naively assume that rate cuts automatically benefit all equities equally.—
Elie Nour,
Forbes.com,
14 Aug. 2025
-
Rising health care costs are never far from many of our minds — the millions of people soon to be kicked off Medicaid but also plenty of us who thought, naively, that the well-insured would never need to worry.—
Steven Zeitchik,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Aug. 2025
Adverb
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Foster’s role is certainly not cut from the same cloth — far darker and more morally fraught.—
Tatiana Siegel,
Variety,
5 Sep. 2025
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Alan, equally steadfast in his conviction, sees the model as both economic and morally justified.—
Okla Jones,
Essence,
30 Aug. 2025
Adverb
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The glorious sweep of progress toward Roman civilization and prosperity means the end of an idyllic, virtuously rustic Golden Age.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Innocently.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/innocently. Accessed 12 Sep. 2025.
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