innocuous

[ ih-nok-yoo-uhs ]
See synonyms for: innocuousinnocuouslyinnocuousness on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. not harmful or injurious; harmless: an innocuous home remedy.

  2. not likely to irritate or offend; inoffensive; an innocuous remark.

  1. not interesting, stimulating, or significant; pallid; insipid: an innocuous novel.

Origin of innocuous

1
From the Latin word innocuus, dating back to 1590–1600. See in-3, nocuous

Other words from innocuous

  • in·noc·u·ous·ly, adverb
  • in·noc·u·ous·ness, in·no·cu·i·ty [in-uh-kyoo-i-tee], /ˌɪn əˈkyu ɪ ti/, noun
  • un·in·noc·u·ous, adjective
  • un·in·noc·u·ous·ly, adverb
  • un·in·noc·u·ous·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use innocuous in a sentence

  • The adventure in the Scoop scared him for a while into innocuousness; then he resumed his game again with redoubled zest.

    Bob, Son of Battle | Alfred Ollivant
  • On the universal innocuousness of the vegetation of the Sea, consult Pouchet's Botanique a work of the highest order.

    The Sea | Jules Michelet
  • This is erroneous and is based upon the assumed inefficacy and innocuousness of judicial injunctions.

  • Recent utterances about the innocuousness of Australian snake-poison find a fitting answer in this melancholy occurrence.

  • This sheepish innocuousness comes easily to the natively uninitiative, to those who are readily amenable to fear and prohibitions.

British Dictionary definitions for innocuous

innocuous

/ (ɪˈnɒkjʊəs) /


adjective
  1. having little or no adverse or harmful effect; harmless

Origin of innocuous

1
C16: from Latin innocuus harmless, from in- 1 + nocēre to harm

Derived forms of innocuous

  • innocuously, adverb
  • innocuousness or innocuity (ˌɪnəˈkjuːɪtɪ), noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012