innocence
English
Etymology
Old French inocence, from Latin innocentia.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈɪnəsn̩s/
Noun
innocence (countable and uncountable, plural innocences)
- Absence of responsibility for a crime.
- Her attorney managed to convince the jury of her innocence.
- Lack of understanding about sensitive subjects such as sexuality and crime.
- 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 9, in The China Governess:
- Eustace gaped at him in amazement. When his urbanity dropped away from him, as now, he had an innocence of expression which was almost infantile. It was as if the world had never touched him at all.
- For more examples of usage of this term, see Citations:innocence.
- In his innocence, he offered the stranger to bring the package to Paris, never suspecting it contained drugs.
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- Lack of ability or intention to harm or damage.
- Tests have demonstrated the innocence of this substance.
- 1967, Sleigh, Barbara, Jessamy, 1993 edition, Sevenoaks, Kent: Bloomsbury, →ISBN, page 96:
- His unruly hair was slicked down with water, and as Jessamy introduced him to Miss Brindle his face assumed a cherubic innocence which would immediately have aroused the suspicions of anyone who knew him.
- For more examples of usage of this term, see Citations:innocence.
- (obsolete) Imbecility; mental deficiency.
Synonyms
- (lack of sensitive subjects): naivety
- (absence of ability to harm): harmlessness
- (freedom from guilt): unguilt
Antonyms
- (absence of responsibility for a crime): guilt
- (absence of ability to harm): harmfulness
Related terms
Translations
absence of responsibility for a crime
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lack of understanding about sensitive subjects such as sexuality and crime
lack of ability or intention to harm or damage
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked
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French
Etymology
Old French inocence, from Latin innocentia.
Related terms
Further reading
- “innocence” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
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