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
The play started innocently enough with Tab Ramos bouncing a one-hop pass to Paul Caligiuri, who played the ball off his chest 40 yards from goal.
—
Los Angeles Times, 7 June 2026
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
Los Angeles Times, 7 June 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for innocently
Adverb
-
The stories are sincerely hilarious.—
Wesley Stenzel,
Entertainment Weekly,
11 June 2026
-
Museums are sincerely trying to connect with their publics (even if these are often cast as consumers), and the horizon for that experiment is almost limitless.—
Katy Siegel,
Artforum,
2 June 2026
Adverb
-
This purely Canadian sports bar is hosting soccer fans whose goal is four different kinds of poutine starting at $16.—
Brian Niemietz,
New York Daily News,
11 June 2026
-
Those are not purely operational procurement questions anymore.—
Prajkta Waditwar,
Forbes.com,
11 June 2026
Adverb
-
Pimentel argued the school failed to intervene despite students openly discussing the security guard's behavior.—
Peter D'Oench,
CBS News,
12 June 2026
-
That includes making the connection between gender-balanced leadership and business results explicit, ensuring women have a seat at the table in core decision-making roles, and sharing progress openly with employees, investors, and prospective hires.—
Liz Elting,
Forbes.com,
11 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
-
Budapest is genuinely stunning and completely doable on a budget.—
Hanna Wickes,
Sacbee.com,
9 June 2026
-
This can be everything from deep feelings of compassion to being surrounded by people who genuinely care about you.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
9 June 2026
Adverb
-
The alien is first believed to be a villain, but his motivations are slowly revealed to be morally gray.—
Brianne Kane,
Scientific American,
12 June 2026
-
Laurie will play Control, the fiendish and commanding head of The Circus, Smiley’s morally fickle superior, known only by his code name.—
Lily Ford,
HollywoodReporter,
10 June 2026
Adverb
-
Readers might think that from the perspective of the dog my engagement with its gaze is naively anthropocentric.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 June 2026
-
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
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 13 Jun. 2026.
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