inoffensive
Americanadjective
-
causing no harm, trouble, or annoyance.
a mild, inoffensive man.
- Synonyms:
- unoffending, innocuous, harmless
-
not objectionable, as to the senses.
an inoffensive odor.
adjective
-
not giving offence; unobjectionable
-
not unpleasant, poisonous, or harmful
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of inoffensive
Explanation
Things that are inoffensive are perfectly pleasant — they don't disturb or upset anyone. Your next door neighbor may annoy you with his late-night drumming sessions and wild parties, while your neighbor on the other side is completely inoffensive, living a quiet life and waving to you each morning in a friendly way. Things that bother, upset, or offend you are offensive, from the Latin root offendere, "to strike against," or "to displease or provoke." When you add the "not" prefix in- to it, you get inoffensive.
Vocabulary lists containing inoffensive
Liar, Liar
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Week 4 Spelling
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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.
All of a Familiar’s behaviors are intended to be approachable and inoffensive, says Morgan Pope, a Familiar Machines roboticist who spent almost eight years at Disney Research.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 4, 2026
In a victim personal statement, the victim's brother, John Blackwood, said she was the "hub of the family... affable, inoffensive" and had many friends.
From BBC • Nov. 21, 2025
Maybe they play the most inoffensive radio station they could find while you wait in a seat that looks as though it was borrowed from an airport in the 1990s.
From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2025
The gags were mild and inoffensive, the perfect way to portend the remainder of the show, which felt the same way.
From Salon • Mar. 3, 2025
Later on, you found out that he wasn’t inoffensive, of course.
From "The Chocolate War" by Robert Cormier
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.
