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innocuous

[ih-nok-yoo-uh s]
See more synonyms for innocuous 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.
  3. not interesting, stimulating, or significant; pallid; insipid: an innocuous novel.
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Origin of innocuous

From the Latin word innocuus, dating back to 1590–1600. See in-3, nocuous
Related formsin·noc·u·ous·ly, adverbin·noc·u·ous·ness, in·no·cu·i·ty [in-uh-kyoo-i-tee] /ˌɪn əˈkyu ɪ ti/, nounun·in·noc·u·ous, adjectiveun·in·noc·u·ous·ly, adverbun·in·noc·u·ous·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for innocuous

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Has the art censor decided that the photographs are innocuous, or that they are art?

  • To conclude our voyage, we have six or seven days of "innocuous desuetude."

    Shadow and Light

    Mifflin Wistar Gibbs

  • When on the march, the army ants are as innocuous at two inches as at two miles.

    Edge of the Jungle

    William Beebe

  • Tomfoolery, nonsense; trashy, mild, and innocuous literature.

    The Slang Dictionary

    John Camden Hotten

  • That is as innocuous a statement as ever was penned of the objects of any organization.

    The Great American Fraud

    Samuel Hopkins Adams

British Dictionary definitions for innocuous

innocuous

adjective
  1. having little or no adverse or harmful effect; harmless
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Derived Formsinnocuously, adverbinnocuousness or innocuity (ˌɪnəˈkjuːɪtɪ), noun

Word Origin

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

Word Origin and History for innocuous

adj.

1590s, from Latin innocuus "harmless," from in- "not" (see in- (1)) + nocuus "hurtful," from root of nocere "to injure, harm," from *nok-s-, suffixed form of PIE root *nek- "death" (see necro-). Related: Innocuously; innocuousness.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
innocuous in Medicine

innocuous

(ĭ-nŏk′yōō-əs)
adj.
  1. Having no adverse effect; harmless.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.