inoffensive

[in-uh-fen-siv]

adjective

1. causing no harm, trouble, or annoyance.

   a mild, inoffensive man.

   Synonyms: unoffending, innocuous, harmless

2. not objectionable, as to the senses.

   an inoffensive odor.

inoffensive

/ ˌɪnəˈfɛnsɪv /

adjective

1. not giving offence; unobjectionable

2. not unpleasant, poisonous, or harmful

Other Word Forms

• inoffensively adverb
• inoffensiveness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of inoffensive¹

First recorded in 1590–1600; in- ³ + offensive

Example Sentences

But that also affirms her as a real person as opposed to a flattened personality, one who is inoffensive, a little twee and unbothered about being an amateur with A-list chefs on speed dial.

From Salon

Maybe its blandness is its superpower: adaptable, inoffensive, and always ready to be whatever we want it to be.

From Salon

The party scenes with leggy dancers, meant to be decadent, are inoffensive.

From Los Angeles Times

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

The main crime the duchess commits in “With Love, Meghan” is creating a middling show that is, at worst, inoffensive.

From Salon

Related Words

• innocuous 
• pleasant 
• unobtrusive