harmless
Americanadjective
-
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
-
without injury; unhurt; unharmed.
idioms
adjective
-
not causing any physical or mental damage or injury
-
unlikely to annoy or worry people
a harmless sort of man
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of harmless
Explanation
Things that can't hurt you are harmless. It might be hard for you to believe her when your sister tells you that her enormous pet snake is completely harmless. If your friend is scared of dogs, you can reassure her by saying, "Sure, he's 150 pounds and has a loud bark, but Fido is harmless!" Things that are safe or benign don't cause harm, and are therefore harmless, like your dad's harmless teasing or a compostable paper plate that's harmless to the environment. The word harmless originally meant "uninjured," or "not harmed," and came to mean "undamaged" by the end of the 1300s.
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.
Mostly Harmless did not want to be found.
From New York Times • Feb. 8, 2024
Moreover, he often exercised his jokes in service of rather serious topics—ask any reader who was miffed by the dark and tragic nature of the Hitchhiker’s Guide series’ penultimate installment, Mostly Harmless.
From Slate • Nov. 7, 2023
Harmless to the general public but life-threatening to patients with a supressed immune system.
From Science Daily • Oct. 17, 2023
Environmental activist Laura Young said she had looked into the product and thought the Project Harmless bags were the most sustainable on the market.
From BBC • Dec. 5, 2022
“It happens all the time at yeshivas and boarding schools. Harmless fun, really.”
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
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.
