innocencenoun [ U ]
uk/ˈɪn.ə.səns/us/ˈɪn.ə.səns/C1 the fact that someone is not guilty of a crime:
She pleaded her innocence, but no one believed her.
He was led away, protesting his innocence (= saying he was not guilty).
C2 the quality of not having much experience of life and not knowing about the bad things that happen in life:
She has a child-like innocence which I find very appealing.
More examples
- It took 15 years for the alleged criminals to prove their innocence.
- She has this apparent innocence which, I suspect, she uses to her advantage.
- The presumption of innocence is central to British law.
- All through the trial he protested his innocence .
- His urgent pleas of innocence made no difference to the judge's decision.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Innocent
- accuse
- acquit
- acquittal
- be above/beyond reproach idiom
- be in the clear idiom
- beat
- beat the rap idiom
- clear
- come up/out smelling of roses idiom
- culpable
- exculpate
- exonerate
- guiltless
- guilty
- reproach
- responsibility
- responsible
- sin 1
- squeaky-clean
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Inexperienced (of people)