innocuous

[ih-nok-yoo-uhs]

adjective

1. not harmful or injurious; harmless.

   an innocuous home remedy.

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

3. not interesting, stimulating, or significant; pallid; insipid.

   an innocuous novel.

innocuous

/ ˌɪnəˈkjuːɪtɪ, ɪˈnɒkjʊəs /

adjective

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

Other Word Forms

• innocuously adverb
• innocuousness noun
• innocuity noun
• uninnocuous adjective
• uninnocuously adverb
• uninnocuousness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of innocuous¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of innocuous¹

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

Example Sentences

The virus is spread through blood or other body fluids and can be contracted through something as innocuous as sharing a nail clipper or toothbrush, doctors say.

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Then there’s Jimmy Kimmel, whose late-night show was suspended on Sept. 17 for an innocuous comment he made with which the White House took umbrage.

Read more on Salon

A call to “address the root causes of infertility” sounds innocuous enough.

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The first discussion of the new school year is relatively innocuous though no less testing for being so.

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In September 2023, seemingly innocuous clouds turned into a sudden electrical storm on the summit of Half Dome in Yosemite National Park.

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Related Words

• banal 
• bland 
• inoffensive 
• insipid 
• painless