innocuous

[ih-nok-yoo-uh s]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR innocuous ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

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

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

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

Nearby words

Origin of innocuous

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

Related forms

in·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, adverb

un·in·noc·u·ous·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for innocuous

The contrarians of the world went full Oliver Stone on the innocuous tune, branding it “problematic” and “anti-feminist.”
‘All About That Bass’ Singer Meghan Trainor On Haters and Her Polarizing (and Unlikely) No. 1 Hit|Marlow Stern|October 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
One faction contends violent games invite real-world brutality, and the other faction defends violent games as innocuous.
Playing Violent Video Games Makes You a Better Person, Study Says|Kevin Zawacki|July 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It feels like an innocuous moment, it should be an innocuous moment, but such moments are like serrated precipices.
Why 7 Times 8 Tripped Up the UK Chancellor|Tim Teeman|July 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
On May 24, 2012, Senator Jon Kyl, an Arizona Republican, gave an innocuous interview to a visiting journalist from Turkey.
The Hedonistic, Possibly Holocaust-Denying Sect That’s Hoodwinking Republican Congressmen|Jay Michaelson|April 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST

More than one used the term “innocuous” to describe the laws.
How Anti-Gay Will Mississippi’s ‘New’ Religious Freedom Bill Be?|Jay Michaelson|March 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
No public account was taken of the innocuous aims, so to speak, taken by justice, in order to hit her victim.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 56, Number 349, November, 1844|Various
This law, in the words of a distinguished Statesman, was then allowed to relapse "into innocuous desuetude."
Shadow and Light|Mifflin Wistar Gibbs
I must not only seem normal and at ease, I actually must be so and harbor only friendly, innocuous thoughts toward The Brain.
The Brain|Alexander Blade
Whatever my intentions were, I have been innocuous, for you have dogged my strides and counteracted my influence.
Fantastic Fables|Ambrose Bierce
When on the march, the army ants are as innocuous at two inches as at two miles.
Edge of the Jungle|William Beebe

British Dictionary definitions for innocuous

innocuous

adjective

having little or no adverse or harmful effect; harmless

Derived Formsinnocuously, adverbinnocuousness or innocuity (ˌɪnəˈkjuːɪtɪ), noun

Word Origin for innocuous

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

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.

Medicine definitions for innocuous

innocuous

[ĭ-nŏk′yōō-əs]

adj.

Having no adverse effect; harmless.

innocuous

adjective

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Origin of innocuous

Examples from the Web for innocuous

innocuous

adjective

Word Origin for innocuous

innocuous

innocuous

adj.