innocent
pronunciation
How to pronounce innocent in British English:
UK [ˈɪnəsnt]
How to pronounce innocent in American English:
US [ˈɪnəsnt]
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- Noun:
- a person who lacks knowledge of evil
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- Adjective:
- free from evil or guilt
- lacking intent or capacity to injure
- free from sin
- lacking in sophistication or worldliness
- used of things; lacking sense or awareness
Word Origin
- innocent
- innocent: [14] Someone who is innocent is literally ‘harmless’. The word comes, partly via Old French, from Latin innocēns, an adjective formed with the negative prefix in- from the present participle of nocēre ‘harm’ (source of English nuisance) – hence, ‘not harming’. The slight semantic shift from ‘not harming’ to ‘blameless, guiltless’ took place in Latin.=> nuisance
- innocent (adj.)
- mid-14c., "doing no evil, free from sin or guilt," from Old French inocent "harmless; not guilty; pure" (11c.), from Latin innocentem (nominative innocens) "not guilty, harmless, blameless," from in- "not" (see in- (1)) + nocentem (nominative nocens), present participle of nocere "to harm" (see noxious). Meaning "free from guilt of a specific crime or charge" is from late 14c. The earliest use was as a noun, "person who is innocent of sin or evil" (c. 1200). The Holy Innocents (early 14c.) were the young children slain by Herod after the birth of Jesus (Matt. ii:16).
Antonym
Example
- 1. He was typical of the innocent ones .
- 2. This is not at all an innocent picture .
- 3. Today , the consensus seems to be that he was innocent .
- 4. Although she was proved innocent she was not allowed to graduate .
- 5. Maybe everyone has their own feelings of an innocent love .