[in.no.cent] adj [ME, fr. MF, fr. L innocent-, innocens, fr. in- + nocent-, nocens wicked, fr. prp. of nocere to harm--more at noxious] (14c) 1 a: free from guilt or sin esp. through lack of knowledge of evil: blameless "an ~ child" b: harmless in effect or intention "searching for a hidden motive in even the most ~ conversation --Leonard Wibberley"; also: candid "gave me an ~ gaze" c: free from legal guilt or fault; also: lawful "a wholly ~ transaction"
2. a: lacking or reflecting a lack of sophistication, guile, or self-consciousness: artless, ingenuous b: ignorant "almost entirely ~ of Latin --C. L. Wrenn"; also: unaware "perfectly ~ of the confusion he had created --B. R. Haydon"
3: lacking or deprived of something "her face ~ of cosmetics --Marcia Davenport" -- innocent n -- in.no.cent.ly adv