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
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.
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
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
At the end of the day, Jonah Peretti wants you to play with his A.I. instead of the other guy’s A.I., because this A.I. is nice and inoffensive.
From Slate • Feb. 11, 2025
“Oi heard they had some trouble up on Mauthen farm,” I said, keeping my information as vague and inoffensive as possible.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
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.
