The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word NAIVETY
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
N
A
I
V
E
T
Y
More clues leading to the result NAIVETY
- Awful vanity punctured by English simplicity
- No housing check on island shows lack of experience
- Etna’s eruption engulfed four, young with a lack of experience
- Vote to imprison one, then check for innocence
- Unworldliness shown in vain trip by Egypt’s young
- One old soldier put in negative vote, displaying simple response
- Vain, yet possibly displaying innocence
- An upcoming surgeon, after one year, shows inexperience
- Navy tie modelled to present innocence
- Awfully vain yet showing innocence
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "innocence" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case innocence = naivety.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does NAIVETY mean?
NAIVETY noun- Lack of sophistication, experience, judgement or worldliness; artlessness; gullibility; credulity.