innocuous
Americanadjective
-
not harmful or injurious; harmless.
an innocuous home remedy.
-
not likely to irritate or offend; inoffensive; an innocuous remark.
-
not interesting, stimulating, or significant; pallid; insipid.
an innocuous novel.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of innocuous
From the Latin word innocuus, dating back to 1590–1600. See in- 3, nocuous
Explanation
Something that's innocuous isn't harmful or likely to cause injury. Public figures like mayors and governors have to expect they'll get critical or even hurtful emails and phone calls, as well as more innocuous feedback. The adjective innocuous is useful when you're talking about something that doesn't offend or injure anyone. Innocuous remarks or comments are meant kindly, and innocuous germs won't make you sick. An innocuous question is innocently curious, rather than aimed to hurt someone's feelings. The word comes from the Latin roots in-, "not," and nocere, "to injure or harm."
Vocabulary lists containing innocuous
Anti-Antonyms: Words Without Opposites
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Negatives with "in"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Innocuous as using the term “mother” to describe an actress may ultimately be, it has been proliferated in such an extreme and exaggerated way that the expression has sprinted past “bop” in terms of misuse.
From Salon • May 10, 2026
"I was 21, I'd grown up isolated from the real world and surrounded by privileges, and I believed that word was like saying 'Yankee'. Innocuous."
From BBC • Jan. 6, 2023
It gives concrete meaning, at a much wider scale, to years of privacy concerns: Innocuous personal data it holds is now evidence.
From Seattle Times • Jul. 8, 2022
Innocuous tree moss lifted the curtain, squarely putting higher levels of carcinogens in some Portlanders’ backyards: Arsenic was detected in Gov. Kate Brown’s Portland neighborhood.
From Washington Times • Feb. 12, 2016
The horrid hounds Droop tail at sight of me and fawn away Innocuous.
From Seven Men by Beerbohm, Max, Sir
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
