innocent

See also: Innocent

English

Etymology

(deprecated template usage)

From Old French inocent, borrowed from Latin innocens (“harmless, inoffensive”), from in- (“not”) + nocēns, present participle of noceō (“to hurt”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɪnəsn̩t/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Adjective

innocent (comparative more innocent, superlative most innocent)

2. Free from guilt, sin, or immorality.
   • 1606, William Shakespeare, Macbeth, IV. iii. 16.

     to offer up a weak, poor, innocent lamb to appease an angry god

   • 2018 September 26, Brian Karem, "Bethesda Resident Describes "Culture Of Privilege" Leading To Exploitation And Abuse" in The Montgomery County Sentinel[1]

     "These were not innocent times," she said.

3. Bearing no legal responsibility for a wrongful act.
4. Naive; artless.
   • 1600, William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing, V. ii. 37:

     I can find out no rhyme to / 'lady' but 'baby' – an innocent rhyme;

5. (obsolete except medicine) Not harmful; innocuous; harmless; benign.
   • (Can we date this quote by Alexander Pope and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     The spear / Sung innocent, and spent its force in air.

   • 2006, David J. Driscoll, Fundamentals of Pediatric Cardiology (page 43)

     Although an innocent murmur is not an obstacle to participation in sports and exercise, a pathologic murmur may necessitate restrictions on the child's physical activity.

6. (with of) Having no knowledge (of something).
7. (with of) Lacking (something). (Can we add an example for this sense?)
8. Lawful; permitted.

   an innocent trade

9. Not contraband; not subject to forfeiture.

   innocent goods carried to a belligerent nation

Synonyms

• (free from blame or guilt): sackless, guiltless
• (free from sin): pure, untainted
• (naive): See also Thesaurus:naive

Antonyms

• (bearing no legal responsibility for a wrongful act): guilty, nocent
• (naive): perverse

Related terms

• innocence
• innocently
• innocuous

Translations

pure, free from sin, untainted

• Amharic: ንጹሐን (nəṣuḥän)
• Arabic: بَرِيء (ar) m (barīʔ), بَرِيئَة (ar) f (barīʔa)
• Armenian: անմեղ (hy) (anmeġ)
• Belarusian: няві́нны (njavínny), бязві́нны (bjazvínny)
• Bulgarian: неви́нен (bg) (nevínen)
• Catalan: innocent (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 無猜／无猜 (zh) (wúcāi), 无猜 (zh) (wúcāi)

• Czech: nevinný
• Dutch: onnozel (nl), onschuldig (nl)
• Esperanto: senkulpa
• Finnish: viaton (fi)
• French: innocent (fr)
• Galician: inocente (gl)
• German: rein (de)
• Greek: αθώος (el) (athóos)
• Hebrew: תָּמִים (he) m (tamím)
• Hindi: निर्दोष (hi) (nirdoṣ)
• Hungarian: ártatlan (hu)
• Japanese: 無邪気な (ja) (むじゃきな, mujaki na)
• Korean: 순진하다 (ko) (sunjinhada)
• Latvian: nevainīgs
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Macedonian: невин (nevin)
• Maori: harakore
• Marathi: निर्दोष (nirdoṣ)
• Old English: unsċyldiġ, bilewit, unsċeþþiġ
• Persian: بیگناه (fa) (bigonâh)
• Polish: niewinny (pl) m
• Portuguese: inocente (pt)
• Romanian: inocent (ro)
• Russian: неви́нный (ru) (nevínnyj), безви́нный (ru) (bezvínnyj)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: невин

  Roman: nevin (sh)

• Slovak: nevinný
• Slovene: nedolžen (sl)
• Spanish: inocente (es)
• Thai: บริสุทธิ์ (th) (bɔɔ-rí-sùt)
• Turkish: suçsuz (tr), masum (tr)
• Ukrainian: неви́нний (nevýnnyj)
• Urdu: نردوش (nirdoś)
• Vietnamese: trong sạch (vi)
• Walloon: enocin (wa)

not legally responsible for a wrongful act

• Arabic: بَرِيء (ar) (barīʔ), بَرِيئَة (ar) f (barīʔa)
• Armenian: անմեղ (hy) (anmeġ)
• Basque: errugabe
• Belarusian: няві́нны (njavínny), невінава́ты (njevinaváty)
• Bulgarian: невино́вен (bg) (nevinóven), неви́нен (bg) (nevínen)
• Catalan: innocent (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 無辜／无辜 (zh) (wúgū), 无辜 (zh) (wúgū), 無罪／无罪 (zh) (wúzuì), 无罪 (zh) (wúzuì)

• Czech: nevinný
• Dutch: onschuldig (nl)
• Finnish: syytön (fi)
• French: innocent (fr)
• German: unschuldig (de)
• Greek: αθώος (el) (athóos)

  Ancient: ἀθῷος (athôios)

• Hindi: मासूम (hi) (māsūm), निर्दोष (hi) (nirdoṣ)
• Hungarian: ^{(please verify)} ártatlan (hu)
• Irish: neamhchiontach
• Japanese: 無罪な (ja) (むざいな, muzai na)
• Korean: 무죄인 (mujoein)
• Latvian: nevainīgs
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Luxembourgish: onschëlleg
• Macedonian: невин (nevin)
• Old English: unsċyldiġ
• Persian: بیگناه (fa) (bigonâh)
• Polish: niewinny (pl) m
• Portuguese: inocente (pt)
• Romanian: nevinovat (ro) m
• Russian: невино́вный (ru) (nevinóvnyj), невинова́тый (ru) (nevinovátyj) (colloquial)
• Scottish Gaelic: ^{(please verify)} neo-chiontach
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: невин, недужан

  Roman: nevin (sh), nedužan (sh)

• Slovak: nevinný
• Slovene: nedolžen (sl)
• Swedish: oskyldig (sv)
• Turkish: suçsuz (tr)
• Ukrainian: невинува́тий (nevynuvátyj), неви́нний (nevýnnyj)
• Urdu: معصوم (māsūm)
• Vietnamese: vô tội (vi)
• Walloon: enocin (wa)
• Yiddish: אומשולדיק (umshuldik)

naive, artless

• Arabic: بَرِيء (ar) (barīʔ)
• Armenian: անմեղ (hy) (anmeġ)
• Bulgarian: наивен (bg) (naiven), простодушен (bg) (prostodušen)
• Catalan: innocent (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 天真 (zh) (tiānzhēn)

• Finnish: viaton (fi), harmiton, naiivi (fi)
• Greek: αθώος (el) (athóos)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hebrew: תָּמִים (he) m (tamím)
• Hungarian: ártatlan (hu)
• Japanese: 無邪気な (ja) (むじゃきな, mujaki na), お人好しな (おひとよしな, ohitoyoshi na)
• Old English: craftlēas
• Polish: niewinny (pl), naiwny (pl)
• Portuguese: inocente (pt)
• Russian: неви́нный (ru) (nevínnyj), безви́нный (ru) (bezvínnyj)
• Walloon: enocin (wa)

harmless in intent

• Bulgarian: безвреден (bg) (bezvreden), доброкачествен (за тумор) (dobrokačestven (za tumor))
• Catalan: innocent (ca)
• Finnish: viaton (fi), harmiton
• Hungarian: ^{(please verify)} ártalmatlan (hu)
• Latvian: nevainīgs
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Portuguese: inocente (pt)
• Russian: неви́нный (ru) (nevínnyj)
• Walloon: enocin (wa)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Esperanto: ^{(please verify)} senkulpa
• German: ^{(please verify)} unschuldig (de)
• Hebrew: ^{(please verify)} טהור (he) (tahór)
• Ido: ^{(please verify)} nekulpabla
• Interlingua: ^{(please verify)} innocente
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• (deprecated template usage) Italian: innocente (it)
• Scottish Gaelic: ^{(please verify)} ionraic, ^{(please verify)} maoth, ^{(please verify)} neo-choireach, ^{(please verify)} socharach
• Serbo-Croatian: ^{(please verify)} nȅvīn (sh), ^{(please verify)} nȅdūžan (sh)
• Slovene: ^{(please verify)} nedolžen (sl)
• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} inocente (es)

Noun

innocent (plural innocents)

1. One who is innocent, especially a young child.

   The slaughter of the innocents was a significant event in the New Testament.

2. (obsolete) A harmless simple-minded person; an idiot.

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Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin innocens, innocentem (“harmless, inoffensive”).

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ent

Adjective

innocent m or f (masculine and feminine plural innocents)

1. innocent

Derived terms

• innocentment

Related terms

• innocència
• innocentada

See also

• El dia dels innocents on the Catalan Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^ca

Further reading

• “innocent” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “innocent”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
• “innocent” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “innocent” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

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French

Etymology

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old French inocent, borrowed from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin innocens, innocentem (“harmless, inoffensive”), from in- (“not”) + nocēns, present participle of noceō (“to hurt”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /i.nɔ.sɑ̃/

• audio

  (file)

Adjective

innocent (feminine innocente, masculine plural innocents, feminine plural innocentes)

1. innocent

Derived terms

• innocemment

Related terms

• innocence
• innocenter

Noun

innocent m (plural innocents, feminine innocente)

1. an innocent (innocent person)
2. (figurative) a naive person

Further reading

• “innocent”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.