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
The viral clip begins with the wife innocently posing for a photo at the airport near a large window overlooking a plane.
—
Soo Kim, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Sep. 2025
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
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
Soo Kim, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Sep. 2025
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
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
-
How to rebuild trust in a relationship The first steps to rebuilding trust in a relationship, Prabhu says, is for the partner who was hurt to express their pain to the partner who hurt them, and for the partner who hurt them to sincerely acknowledge and validate the hurt partner's feelings.—
Hannah Yasharoff,
USA Today,
15 Sep. 2025
-
Miller sincerely believes there’s a game for everyone.—
Michael Deeds,
Idaho Statesman,
11 Sep. 2025
Adverb
-
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
-
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
-
While not purely hypercarnivorous, many Mongol groups likely got over 70% of their calories from animal products during long stretches, especially when on military campaigns or in winter.—
Scott Travers,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
-
While some VCs like IQ Capital have pivoted to focus more intently on defense, others are being set up in Europe purely to hunt for opportunities in the sector.—
Chloe Taylor,
CNBC,
12 Sep. 2025
Adverb
-
But Moscow has openly rejected proposals from Kyiv’s European allies to contribute to a potential peacekeeping force in Ukraine if a ceasefire deal is finalized.—
Lauren Kent,
CNN Money,
12 Sep. 2025
-
In a first-person essay published in Sports Illustrated in 2013, Collins wrote about his sexuality and became the first openly gay player in any of the four major North American men's professional sports leagues.—
Chantz Martin,
FOXNews.com,
12 Sep. 2025
Adverb
-
Face washing allows for thorough cleansing if done properly, which allows the skin to better absorb moisturizers or treatments that may be applied afterwards.—
Sohaib Imtiaz,
Verywell Health,
16 Sep. 2025
-
This ensures both assistive technologies and AI engines can interpret your content’s structure properly.—
Ran Ronen,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
Adverb
-
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
-
Ukraine’s resilience proves that authoritarian tactics ultimately fail not just militarily but economically and morally.—
Ken Silverstein,
Forbes.com,
11 Sep. 2025
-
Foster’s role is certainly not cut from the same cloth — far darker and more morally fraught.—
Tatiana Siegel,
Variety,
5 Sep. 2025
Adverb
-
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 18 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share