innocuous

[ ih-nok-yoo-uhs ]

/ ɪˈnɒk yu əs /

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See synonyms for: innocuous / innocuously / innocuousness 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.

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Origin of innocuous

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

OTHER WORDS FROM innocuous

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. 2023

How to use innocuous in a sentence

The adventure in the Scoop scared him for a while into innocuousness; then he resumed his game again with redoubled zest.
Bob, Son of Battle|Alfred Ollivant
On the universal innocuousness of the vegetation of the Sea, consult Pouchet's Botanique a work of the highest order.
The Sea|Jules Michelet
This is erroneous and is based upon the assumed inefficacy and innocuousness of judicial injunctions.
State of the Union Addresses of William H. Taft|William H. Taft
Recent utterances about the innocuousness of Australian snake-poison find a fitting answer in this melancholy occurrence.
On Snake-Poison: its Action and its Antidote|A. Mueller

This sheepish innocuousness comes easily to the natively uninitiative, to those who are readily amenable to fear and prohibitions.
Philosophy and The Social Problem|Will Durant

British Dictionary definitions for innocuous

innocuous

/ (ɪˈnɒkjʊəs) /

adjective

having little or no adverse or harmful effect; harmless

Derived forms of innocuous

innocuously, 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

innocuous

Origin of innocuous

OTHER WORDS FROM innocuous

Words related to innocuous

How to use innocuous in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for innocuous

Derived forms of innocuous

Word Origin for innocuous