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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of innocently
There’s a particularly tragic scene where Natalia, lured on holiday by Elsa, spots a small child innocently giggling at the table across from her at dinner.
—
Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 15 May 2026
For the person who innocently took her rugby kit to the hospital four years ago, representing her country would feel like a just reward for Balogun’s perseverance and strength of will.
—George Ramsay, New York Times, 7 May 2026
Her pictures, which start innocently enough from the puppy-dog idea, get increasingly demeaning.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 20 Apr. 2026
After innocently coming up in the scene by posting songs on Soundcloud, Slayyyter finally signed to a major label last year.
—Selena Fragassi, SPIN, 1 Apr. 2026
Bethenny Frankel was innocently applying a roller on her face to help with inflammation on Thursday on Instagram.
—Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 13 Mar. 2026
The mistake begins innocently enough.
—Ana Gutierrez, Austin American Statesman, 10 Feb. 2026
The story starts innocently enough.
—Sergio Pereira, Space.com, 15 Jan. 2026
What began as innocently wagering ten or twenty bucks on games escalated to putting $5,000 on long-shot parlays, day after day.
—Vanity Fair, 12 Jan. 2026
Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 15 May 2026
For the person who innocently took her rugby kit to the hospital four years ago, representing her country would feel like a just reward for Balogun’s perseverance and strength of will.
—George Ramsay, New York Times, 7 May 2026
Her pictures, which start innocently enough from the puppy-dog idea, get increasingly demeaning.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 20 Apr. 2026
After innocently coming up in the scene by posting songs on Soundcloud, Slayyyter finally signed to a major label last year.
—Selena Fragassi, SPIN, 1 Apr. 2026
Bethenny Frankel was innocently applying a roller on her face to help with inflammation on Thursday on Instagram.
—Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 13 Mar. 2026
The mistake begins innocently enough.
—Ana Gutierrez, Austin American Statesman, 10 Feb. 2026
The story starts innocently enough.
—Sergio Pereira, Space.com, 15 Jan. 2026
What began as innocently wagering ten or twenty bucks on games escalated to putting $5,000 on long-shot parlays, day after day.
—Vanity Fair, 12 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for innocently
Adverb
-
Basically, no matter how soap-y the show gets, Akerman permits the audience to buy into and sincerely enjoy the Hunting Wives ridiculousness.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
29 May 2026
-
Take a few extra moments to double-check your space, thank your host sincerely, and leave on a warm, unhurried note.—
Jamie Cuccinelli,
Martha Stewart,
22 May 2026
Adverb
-
Furthermore, a recent Financial Times investigation revealed that even when AI developers implement guardrails to prevent bad actors from misusing them, protections can be bypassed using openly available software tools in less than 10 minutes.—
Mohammad Hosseini,
Chicago Tribune,
4 June 2026
-
In the other room, Kayda is entertaining Bryce and Zach, who are openly drooling, and the scene could not look more like Challengers if Zendaya were playing Kayda.—
Kathleen Walsh,
Vulture,
4 June 2026
Adverb
-
The Nuvolari is essentially an evolution of the Concept C (which was previously touted as purely electric) that wowed last year, down to the color.—
Jerry Perez,
The Drive,
4 June 2026
-
The act of doing so for purely partisan purposes has been ruled constitutional by the courts.—
David M. Drucker,
Twin Cities,
3 June 2026
Adverb
-
The scene was genuinely awful to watch, but the movie—a story of plague, passion, period costumes, and an unwashed man in a tunic skipping town to cure writer’s block—ended up thrilling us; the portrayal of two creative minds working together (and apart) was, oddly, familiar.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
2 June 2026
-
Zone 2 remains genuinely well-suited for beginners, older adults, people returning from injury, and anyone who needs a sustainable low-stress way to stay active.—
Allison Palmer
June 2,
Sacbee.com,
2 June 2026
Adverb
-
At least one person died and a child who was properly restrained in a car seat is OK, officers said.—
Brandon Downs,
CBS News,
7 June 2026
-
If the reasoning in the memo struck immigration lawyers as dubious, this may have been because the agency’s office of chief counsel failed to properly vet it.—
Jonathan Blitzer,
New Yorker,
7 June 2026
Adverb
-
Educators are no longer naively wondering if students will use generative AI to do their homework for them.—
Jocelyn Gecker,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Educators are no longer naively wondering if students will use generative AI to do their homework for them.—
Jocelyn Gecker,
Fortune,
23 Apr. 2026
Adverb
-
The system claims ethically to create security and trust while morally destabilizing identity continuity and socially displacing human judgment with procedural authority.—
Hamilton Mann,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2026
-
Europe’s newfound openness to African industrialization is not because dependency suddenly became morally objectionable, but because Europe increasingly fears dependency itself.—
W. Gyude Moore,
semafor.com,
25 May 2026
Adverb
-
Some of us virtuously recycle items that will be transported across the world to smother island nations in single-use plastic bags and water bottles, milk jugs, yogurt tubs, pet food and potato chip bags, Styrofoam meat trays, Coke bottles, Amazon mailing envelopes, and fast-food wrappers.—
Caroline Fraser,
The New York Review of Books,
4 Apr. 2026
-
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 9 Jun. 2026.
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