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   In·no·cent

   /ˈinəs(ə)nt/

   

   adjective

   • 1. not guilty of a crime or offense: "the arbitrary execution of an innocent man" Similar guiltlessguilt-freenot guiltyblamelessnot to blamein the clearunimpeachableirreproachableabove suspicionbeyond criticismwithout faultfaultlesshonorablehonestuprightupstandinglaw-abidingincorruptinformal:squeaky cleanOpposite guilty
   • ▪ without experience or knowledge of: "a man innocent of war's cruelties"
   • ▪ without; lacking: "a street quite innocent of bookstores" Similar free fromwithoutlacking (in)empty ofclear ofunacquainted withignorant ofunaware ofunfamiliar withuntouched byrare:nescient of
   • 2. not responsible for or directly involved in an event yet suffering its consequences: "an innocent bystander"
   • 3. free from moral wrong; not corrupted: "an innocent child" Similar virtuouspuresinlessfree of sinmoraldecentrighteousuprightwholesomedemuremodestchastevirginalvirginimpeccablepristinespotlessstainlessunblemishedunsulliedincorruptuncorrupteduncontaminatedundefiledinformal:squeaky cleanwhiter than whiteas pure as the driven snowimmaculateOpposite sinful
   • ▪ simple; naive: "she is a poor, innocent young creature" Similar naiveingenuoustrustingtrustfulover-trustingcredulousunsuspiciousunsuspectingunwaryunguardedunskepticalimpressionablegullibleeasily deceivedeasily taken ineasily ledinexperiencedunworldlyunsophisticatedgreenwide-eyedsimpleartlessguilelesschildlikefrankopeninformal:wet behind the earsborn yesterdayas green as grassOpposite worldly
   • 4. not intended to cause harm or offense; harmless: "an innocent mistake" Similar harmlessinnocuoussafenoninjuriousunobjectionableinoffensiveplayful

   noun

   • 1. a pure, guileless, or naive person: "she was an innocent compared with this man"
   • 2. a person involved by chance in a situation, especially a victim of crime or war: "they are prepared to kill or maim innocents in pursuit of a cause"
   • ▪ the young children killed by Herod after the birth of Jesus (Matt. 2:16).

   Word Origin Middle English: from Old French, or from Latin innocent- ‘not harming’, from in- ‘not’ + nocere ‘to hurt’.

   Scrabble Points: 10

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