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.

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. 2019

Related Words for innocuousness

blandness, boredom, drabness, dreariness, dryness, familiarity, flatness, insipidness, routine, sameness, slowness, tediousness, tedium, vapidity, washiness, wateriness, aridity, staleness

Examples from the Web for innocuousness

Historical Examples of innocuousness

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 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
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

British Dictionary definitions for innocuousness

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 innocuousness

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.

innocuousness in Medicine

innocuous

[ĭ-nŏk′yōō-əs]

adj.

Having no adverse effect; harmless.