innocent

B1 Topic:Crime & Justice

US /ˈɪnəsənt/ See IPA manual

Freq #1183

Meanings

1

adj
Not guilty of a crime or wrongdoing.

The court found him innocent of all charges.
2

adj
Not intended to cause harm; harmless.

It was just an innocent joke.
3

adj
Lacking experience of the world; naive.

She gave me an innocent, trusting look.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · not guilty of a crime or... blameless guiltlessclean-handed

2 adj · not intended to cause harm;... innocuous

3 adj · lacking experience of the... ingenuous artless guileless

More clean clear dovelikeirreprehensiblenonblameworthyoffenseless pure righteous sackless

Opposites

blameworthy guilty nocent

Word family

Forms innocents

Derived forms innocentnessnoninnocentpseudoinnocentuninnocent

Related forms innocence innocently innocuous praiseworthy

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

innocent victim
a person who suffers harm despite having done nothing wrong

Adjective + noun

Simplified etymology

Innocent entered English in the Middle Ages and literally means “not harming.” It goes back to Latin in-, “not,” combined with nocere, “to hurt or injure.”

Etymology

From Middle English innocent, from Old French innocent, inocent, borrowed from Latin innocēns (“harmless, inoffensive”), from in- (“not”) + nocēns, present participle of noceō (“to hurt”). By surface analysis, in- (“not”) + nocent (“harmful; guilty”). Displaced native Old English unsċyldiġ.

*neḱ- Proto-Indo-European innocent Middle English innocēns Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Crime & Justice

External links

# innocent

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈɪnəsənt/
**Frequency rank:** 1183

## Meanings
1. Not guilty of a crime or wrongdoing.
2. Not intended to cause harm; harmless.
3. Lacking experience of the world; naive.

## Examples
- The court found him innocent of all charges.
- It was just an innocent joke.
- She gave me an innocent, trusting look.

## Synonyms
- blameless
- clean
- clean-handed
- clear
- dovelike
- guiltless
- irreprehensible
- nonblameworthy
- offenseless
- pure
- righteous
- sackless

## Antonyms
- blameworthy
- guilty
- nocent

## Derived Forms
- innocentness
- noninnocent
- pseudoinnocent
- uninnocent

## Related Forms
- innocence
- innocently
- innocuous
- praiseworthy

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *neḱ-
- Root: innocent
- Root: innocēns

## Etymology
From Middle English innocent, from Old French innocent, inocent, borrowed from Latin innocēns (“harmless, inoffensive”), from in- (“not”) + nocēns, present participle of noceō (“to hurt”). By surface analysis, in- (“not”) + nocent (“harmful; guilty”). Displaced native Old English unsċyldiġ.

## AI Etymology
Innocent comes from Middle English innocent, from Old French innocent, inocent, borrowed from Latin innocēns (“harmless, inoffensive”), from in- (“not”) + nocēns, present participle of noceō (“to hurt”). By surface analysis, in- (“not”) + nocent (“harmful; guilty”). Displaced native Old English unsċyldiġ. The analysis is mainly morphological: the modern adjectival form is built from the named base and affix. The historical line also includes *neḱ-.

## Topics
- Crime & Justice

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