innocently
adverb
Simple meaning
In a not unlawful way.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
inuhsuhntleeSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɪnəsəntli
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.
adverb
In a not unlawful manner
“He claimed to have purchased the contraband innocently.”
In a naively innocent manner
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Frequency
- Rare
- Typical Use
- Primarily written
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: In a not unlawful manner
Used this way, innocently is a specialist word with a mildly favourable edge. It turns up most in technical or specialist writing contexts.
“He claimed to have purchased the contraband innocently.”
- Emotional tone
- Slightly positive
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Positive and appreciative
- Usage feel
- Clinical and detached
Where it naturally appears
- Technical/specialist writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use innocently
- “He claimed to have purchased the contraband innocently.”adverb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Free from evil or guilt.
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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.