Innocence

4 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Innocence \In"no*cence\, n. [F. innocence, L. innocentia. See
     {Innocent}.]
     1. The state or quality of being innocent; freedom from that
        which is harmful or infurious; harmlessness.
        [1913 Webster]
  


     2. The state or quality of being morally free from guilt or
        sin; purity of heart; blamelessness.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              The silence often of pure innocence
              Persuades when speaking fails.        --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Banished from man's life his happiest life,
              Simplicity and spotless innocence!    --Milton.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. The state or quality of being not chargeable for, or
        guilty of, a particular crime or offense; as, the
        innocence of the prisoner was clearly shown.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. Simplicity or plainness, bordering on weakness or
        silliness; artlessness; ingenuousness. --Chaucer. Shak.
  
     Syn: Harmlessness; innocuousness; blamelessness; purity;
          sinlessness; guiltlessness.
          [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  innocence
       n 1: the quality of innocent naivete [syn: {artlessness}, {ingenuousness},
             {naturalness}]
       2: the state of being free from sin or moral wrong; lacking a
          knowledge of evil [syn: {purity}, {sinlessness}]
       3: a state or condition of being innocent of a specific crime
          or offense; "the trial established his innocence" [ant: {guilt}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  92 Moby Thesaurus words for "innocence":
     agnosticism, artlessness, benignancy, benignity, blankmindedness,
     blotlessness, bluffness, bluntness, callowness, candor, chastity,
     childlikeness, cleanliness, cleanness, directness,
     empty-headedness, greenhornism, greenness, guilelessness,
     guiltlessness, harmlessness, hiatus of learning, honor,
     hurtlessness, ignorance, ignorantism, ignorantness, immaculacy,
     immaculateness, inanity, inexperience, ingenuousness,
     innocuousness, inoffensiveness, know-nothingism, knowledge-gap,
     lack of information, naiveness, naivete, naivety, nescience,
     obscurantism, openheartedness, openness, outspokenness, plainness,
     purity, rawness, sexual innocence, simpleheartedness,
     simplemindedness, simpleness, simplicity, sincerity,
     single-heartedness, single-mindedness, singleness of heart,
     snowiness, spotlessness, stainlessness, tabula rasa, taintlessness,
     trustfulness, unacquaintance, unacquaintedness, unawareness,
     unblemishedness, unblottedness, uncorruptness, undefiledness,
     unfamiliarity, unguardedness, uninjuriousness, unintelligence,
     unknowing, unknowingness, unobnoxiousness, unripeness,
     unsoiledness, unsophisticatedness, unsophistication, unspottedness,
     unstainedness, unsulliedness, unsuspiciousness, untaintedness,
     unwariness, vacuity, vacuousness, virtue, virtuousness,
     whiteness
  
  

From Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [bouvier]:

  INNOCENCE, The absence of guilt. 
       2. The law presumes in favor of innocence, even against another 
  presumption of law: for example, when a woman marries a second husband 
  within the space of twelve months after her husband had left the country, 
  the presumption of innocence preponderates over the presumption of the 
  continuance of life. 2 B. & A. 386 3 Stark. Ev. 1249. An exception to this 
  rule respecting the presumption of innocence has been made in the case of 
  the publication of a libel, the principal being presumed to have authorized 
  the sale, when a libel is sold by his agent in his usual place of doing 
  business. 1 Russ. on Cr. 341; 10 Johns. R. 443; Bull. N. P. 6; Greenl. Ev. 
  Sec. 36. See 4 Nev. & M. 341; 2 Ad. & Ell. 540; 5 Barn. & Ad. 86; 1 Stark. 
  N. P. C. 21; 2 Nov. & M. 219.