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
- innocuity noun
- innocuously adverb
- innocuousness noun
- uninnocuous adjective
- uninnocuously adverb
- uninnocuousness noun
Etymology
Origin of innocuous
From the Latin word innocuus, dating back to 1590–1600. See in- 3, nocuous
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.
I had a recurring thing around being in the supermarket, which I thought was totally innocuous.
The calls were fairly innocuous and typically would not raise eyebrows.
From Los Angeles Times
This may sound innocuous, but it led to a massive transformation.
From Salon
But at some point between February and late April, this seemingly innocuous piece of data simply vanished from Miami’s online roster.
The research suggests, therefore, layoffs might have been driven by more disturbing factors rather than the innocuous justifications proffered by chief executives.
From MarketWatch
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.
