harmless

[hahrm-lis]

adjective

1. without the power or desire to do harm; innocuous.

   He looks mean but he's harmless; a harmless Halloween prank.

   Synonyms: benign, unobjectionable, innocent, mild, inoffensive

2. without injury; unhurt; unharmed.

harmless

/ ˈhɑːmlɪs /

adjective

1. not causing any physical or mental damage or injury

2. unlikely to annoy or worry people

   a harmless sort of man

Other Word Forms

• harmlessly adverb
• harmlessness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of harmless¹

1250–1300; Middle English; harm, -less

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. hold harmless, to relieve from responsibility or liability for any damage or loss. Also save harmless.

Example Sentences

“It’s not a harmless oversight. The consequences can be significant and far-reaching.”

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Each one is hand-plucked, which means you may spot a few black quills here and there; the company insists they’re harmless, and they disappear once cooked.

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A chunk of the ceiling comes down on Tano, but he reduces the rubble to harmless debris with one swing of the akrafena.

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Now they had combined the two and were heating the resulting mixture over a gas flame, which seemed harmless enough.

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“Just in case he’s harmless. Don’t wanna get him in trouble if he’s some innocent kid going through a hard time. I remember what that’s like.”

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Related Words

• gentle 
• innocent 
• innocuous 
• inoffensive 
• naive 
• nontoxic 
• painless 
• powerless 
• simple