innocence
noun
Simple meaning
Lack of understanding about sensitive subjects such as sexuality and crime.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
inuhsuhnsSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɪnəsəns
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
Lack of understanding about sensitive subjects such as sexuality and crime.
Absence of responsibility for a crime, tort, etc.
Lack of ability or intention to harm or damage.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Lack of understanding about sensitive subjects such as sexuality and crime.
Used this way, innocence is a reasonably familiar word with a faintly unfavourable edge. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Slightly negative
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Critical or judgemental
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use innocence
- “The child's innocence brought a fresh perspective to our complex problems.”noun
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Antonyms
Sense: lack of understanding about sensitive subjects such as sexuality and crime
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Knowing “innocence” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.