INNOCENT


Meaning of INNOCENT in English

I. -sənt noun

( -s )

Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French

1. : an innocent one: as

a. : a person free from or unacquainted with sin ; especially : a young child

b. obsolete : a person guiltless of a crime charged

c. : a naïve, artless, or unsophisticated person

an innocent and a novice in the ways of the world — Fred Whishaw

d. : a person who lacks the requisite experience, training, or knowledge : tenderfoot

lending a wrench to some innocent who forgot to bring his own — W.L.Worden

2.

[French, short for herbe de Saint Innocent Saint Innocent's herb]

: bluet 1c(1) — usually used in plural

II. adjective

( sometimes -er/-est )

Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French, adjective & noun, from Latin innocent- innocens, from in- in- (I) + nocent-, nocens bad, wicked, from present participle of nocēre to harm, hurt — more at noxious

1.

a.

(1) : free from guilt or sin especially through lack of knowledge of evil : blameless , pure , untainted

an innocent child

(2) : being without evil influence or effect : not arising from evil intention

innocent deception

innocent sport

searching for a hidden motive in even the most innocent conversation — Leonard Wibberley

(3) : reflecting or indicating freedom from guilt or sin : candid

a child's trusting innocent eye

turned on me her innocent gaze

b.

(1) : free from legal guilt or fault

a person innocent of a particular crime

an innocent agent

: free from an illegality : being without knowledge of circumstances giving notice of a defect in title or of rights existing in third persons

an innocent holder or purchaser for value

: being without intention of evading or circumventing the law

(2) : having a lawful character : permitted

a wholly innocent transaction

specifically : not being contraband

an innocent trade

(3) : lacking or devoid of something : destitute

innocent of any linguistic training — A.F.Hubbell

her face innocent of cosmetics — Marcia Davenport

glass still innocent of water and soap — William Faulkner

2.

a.

(1) : lacking or reflecting lack of sophistication, guile, or self-consciousness : artless , ingenuous , naïve

a disappointing figure to innocent persons who seek his acquaintance — C.E.Montague

innocent vanity

what an innocent notion — F.L.Allen

not innocent … but academic and a little self-conscious — Philip Toynbee

(2) : foolishly ignorant or trusting : subject to being duped : simpleminded

when it comes to a trade, he is not as innocent as he looks

b.

(1) : not adept in or conversant with something : ignorant

almost entirely innocent of Latin — C.L.Wrenn

the curious but innocent explorer will find himself hopelessly lost — B.R.Redman

(2) : unsuspecting , unaware

perfectly innocent of the confusion he had created — B.R.Haydon

3. : lacking capacity to injure : innocuous , harmless

unarmed hands or feet are relatively innocent — Lewis Mumford

fine innocent weather — John Muir †1914

specifically : benign 3c

an innocent heart murmur — Lancet

• in·no·cent·ly adverb

• in·no·cent·ness noun -es

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.