innocent

/ˈɪnəsnt/ (bre, ipa) · [ˈɪnəsənt] /ˈɪnəsnt/ (ame, ipa) · [ˈɪnəsənt] /ˈi-nə-sənt/ (ame, mw) · /ˈɪn.ə.sənt/ (bre, ipa) · [ˈɪnəsənt] /ˈɪn.ə.sənt/ (ame, ipa)

innocent — 形容詞

  • innocentpositive
  • more innocentcomparative
  • most innocentsuperlative

1. describes a person who did not commit the crime or wrongdoing they are accused o

1.形容詞A2
釋義

無罪的

沒有犯下被指控的罪行

describes a person who did not commit the crime or wrongdoing they are accused of.

例句

The lawyer proved that her client was innocent of the robbery.

律師證明她的當事人並未犯下搶劫罪。

collocation: innocent of [crime]

Gabriel spent three years in prison before the court finally declared him innocent.

Gabriel 在監獄裡關了三年，法院才終於宣告他無罪。

passive: declared innocent by a court

同義詞
  • not guilty

    the standard legal phrase used in court verdicts

  • blameless

    more formal; suggests no moral fault at all

  • cleared

    past participle used after a formal decision by a court or committee

反義詞
  • guilty

    found to have committed the crime

文法句型

be innocent of + noun phrase

用法筆記

Frequently paired with the preposition 'of' to specify the crime the person did not commit. In legal contexts the opposite is 'guilty'.

常見錯誤

❌The court found him innocent from the crime.
✅The court found him innocent of the crime.
💡the preposition after 'innocent' is 'of', not 'from'.
❌He was proved innocently.
✅He was proved innocent.
💡use the adjective form, not the adverb, after linking verbs like 'proved' or 'found'.

2. describes someone who has not yet learned about the unpleasant or dishonest side

2.形容詞B1
釋義

天真的

缺乏人生經驗，不識世故

describes someone who has not yet learned about the unpleasant or dishonest side of life because they have had little experience of it.

例句

Lakshmi was so innocent that she believed every promise the salesman made.

Lakshmi 天真到相信業務員對她做的每一個承諾。

The novel is told through the eyes of a young and innocent girl.

這本小說是透過一個天真小女孩的眼睛來敘述的。

collocation: young and innocent

同義詞
  • naive

    the most direct synonym; focuses on lack of worldly wisdom

  • childlike

    positive connotation; suggests pure and trusting like a child

  • unsophisticated

    suggests lack of polish or experience rather than moral purity

反義詞
  • worldly

    having a lot of experience of life and people

  • sophisticated

    showing a lot of experience and knowledge of the world

用法筆記

Can imply a positive quality (pure, uncorrupted) or a limitation (gullible, easily tricked) depending on context. Compare sense 1 (legal innocence) — this sense has nothing to do with crime.

常見錯誤

❌She is innocent about the city life.
✅She is innocent of city life.' or better: 'She is naive about city life.
💡'innocent of' can mean lacking knowledge of something, but 'naive about' is more natural for this sense.

3. describes a person who is hurt or killed during a conflict even though they are

3.形容詞B2
釋義

無辜的

非戰鬥人員而受害的

describes a person who is hurt or killed during a conflict even though they are not a member of any armed group and are not fighting.

例句

The bomb killed over thirty innocent civilians who were just shopping at the market.

那枚炸彈炸死了三十多名正在市場購物的無辜平民。

collocation: innocent civilians

Chidi's family were among the innocent victims of the border conflict.

Chidi 的家人是那場邊境衝突中無辜的受害者。

collocation: innocent victims

同義詞
  • non-combatant

    formal military term for someone not fighting

  • civilian

    a person not in the armed forces; less emotional than 'innocent'

反義詞

文法句型

innocent + noun (people / civilians / victims / bystanders)

用法筆記

Commonly collocates with 'civilians', 'victims', 'bystanders', and 'people'. Frequently appears in news reports about armed conflicts. Do not confuse with sense 1 (legal innocence) — this sense is about non-participation in fighting, not about guilt or crime.

4. describes an action, statement, or object that is not meant to upset, offend, or

4.形容詞B1
釋義

無害的

不打算傷害他人的

describes an action, statement, or object that is not meant to upset, offend, or injure anyone.

例句

Mert thought it was just an innocent joke, but Eva found it quite rude.

Mert 以為那只是一個無傷大雅的玩笑，但 Eva 覺得很沒禮貌。

collocation: innocent joke / remark / comment

The question seemed innocent enough, so nobody expected such an angry reply.

這個問題看起來無害，所以沒人預料到會得到那麼生氣的答覆。

同義詞
  • harmless

    the most direct synonym; focuses on lack of damaging effect

  • well-intentioned

    focuses on the good purpose behind the action

  • minor

    suggests the thing is not serious enough to cause real harm

反義詞
  • harmful

    causing or likely to cause harm

  • malicious

    intended to hurt or upset someone

用法筆記

Often used when someone's action is later interpreted as having a bad intention, but the person insists — or the speaker believes — no harm was meant.

常見錯誤

❌It was an innocent mistake, I did it purposedly.
✅It was an innocent mistake, I did not mean to do it.
💡'innocent mistake' means the mistake was not intended, so don't contradict it by saying it was on purpose.

5. describes someone who has no knowledge of a particular subject or fact — as thou

5.形容詞B2
釋義

不知情的

對某事物一無所知的

describes someone who has no knowledge of a particular subject or fact — as though they have simply never encountered it.

例句

Élise was completely innocent of the rules that governed the competition.

Élise 對比賽的規則完全不知情。

pattern: innocent of + noun (formal)

The new intern seemed innocent of the office politics that divided the team.

那位新進實習生似乎對公司裡分裂團隊的政治鬥爭一無所知。

同義詞
反義詞

文法句型

innocent of + noun phrase (a fact, a subject)

用法筆記

This sense is formal and somewhat literary. In everyday speech, 'unaware of' or 'ignorant of' are more natural. It always takes a complement specifying what the person lacks knowledge of.

常見錯誤

❌She is innocent about the new software.
✅She is innocent of the new software.
💡the preposition is 'of', not 'about', in this formal sense.

innocent — 名詞