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
- inoffensively adverb
- inoffensiveness noun
Etymology
Origin of inoffensive
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.
One of them is a title so generic, so blandly inoffensive yet simultaneously indicative of hope, resolve, or insider knowledge as to be, ultimately, unmemorable.
From Slate • Apr. 3, 2026
She described Ruben as "inoffensive" and "a normal bloke", adding that "Jon was definitely the leader, he was in charge" and if the children needed quietening down "he would speak to them like a teacher".
From BBC • Feb. 7, 2026
It’s surrounded by modern apartment buildings, boxy and inoffensive, built to blend in with today’s taste.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 21, 2025
Maybe its blandness is its superpower: adaptable, inoffensive, and always ready to be whatever we want it to be.
From Salon • Jul. 5, 2025
She had come with a gentleman by the name of Gouvemail, connected with one of the daily papers, of whom nothing special could be said, except that he was observant and seemed quiet and inoffensive.
From "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin
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.
