innocuous
Americanadjective
-
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.
adjective
Other Word Forms
- innocuity noun
- innocuously adverb
- innocuousness noun
- uninnocuous adjective
- uninnocuously adverb
- uninnocuousness noun
Etymology
Origin of innocuous
From the Latin word innocuus, dating back to 1590–1600. See in- 3, nocuous
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.
A tidbit of information might seem innocuous on its face, but when combined with other information from other records could reveal sensitive information.
He looked at me with his sad baby blues and shared how he told these innocuous falsities, ultimately, out of deep-seeded self-hatred.
From Los Angeles Times
It seemed innocuous enough, with a running total of revenues from a couple of seasons in the 1970s.
From BBC
I had a recurring thing around being in the supermarket, which I thought was totally innocuous.
The calls were fairly innocuous and typically would not raise eyebrows.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
