1
as in sincerely
without any attempt to impress by deception or exaggeration
"You look nice," she commented innocently
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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
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 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
-
But there are millions of people who sincerely think some or all of those things are true and do not take a cross-country train and try to kill the president and his Cabinet.—
Chris Stirewalt,
The Hill,
28 Apr. 2026
-
At that time, the other co-founders were sincerely questioning both Musk and Altman’s motivations for wanting to become OpenAI’s CEO.—
Ashley Belanger,
ArsTechnica,
27 Apr. 2026
Adverb
-
What is striking about this moment is that America is not merely acknowledging the Jewish roots of some of its values historically, but openly turning again to a distinctly Jewish practice as a possible source of wisdom for the present.—
Ari Berman,
New York Daily News,
15 May 2026
-
The controversy also took a turn after the discovery of a March 2026 interview with outlet El Nuevo Día in which Díaz openly discussed his family’s involvement in the underground circuit.—
Alejandro Avila OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
15 May 2026
Adverb
-
This is proof that sometimes divine intervention-like occurrences can happen, occurring purely via the Grace of God.—
Gary Franks,
Hartford Courant,
14 May 2026
-
From another, money is seen purely as a unit of account, a measurement like a meter or a year, so that the question of how much of it there is, is a category error, like asking how many inches there are in Europe.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 May 2026
Adverb
-
That said, Evermore's summer programming—beach DJs, movie nights on the sand, a resident sand sculpting artist, and holiday weekend events like a July 4th carnival and Labor Day Bay Games—makes staying put genuinely tempting.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
19 May 2026
-
The partnership reflects a broader belief that wearable technology will only gain mainstream traction if consumers genuinely want to wear it.—
Thomas Waller,
Footwear News,
19 May 2026
Adverb
-
Slices of cold roast beef, beautiful and rare, come attended by a snowy blob of properly sinus-clearing horseradish cream, with a pickled black walnut on top like the cherry on a sundae and a crumbly wedge of cheddar.—
Helen Rosner,
New Yorker,
17 May 2026
-
Slot is a good communicator who tries to properly answer every question, slipping in the occasional attempt at humour.—
Carl Anka,
New York Times,
17 May 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 Vatican and the Constitution show the way morally and legally.—
Ramesh Ponnuru,
Washington Post,
14 May 2026
-
Series two will expand the tense, morally complex world of Prisoner, with Amber back in uniform — but not back to normal.—
Lily Ford,
HollywoodReporter,
14 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 20 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
