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

Derived Forms

• ˌinofˈfensiveness, noun
• ˌinofˈfensively, adverb

Other Words From

• inof·fensive·ly adverb
• inof·fensive·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of inoffensive¹

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

Example Sentences

Its glacial pace, often accompanied by a viscous sludge it leaves behind, make it a messy if inoffensive kind of pest.

From Los Angeles Times

Simpson was trying to score points with a public who no longer saw him as a football legend, an affable movie star, a trusted network commentator, colorless or inoffensive.

From Salon

You can find a lot of evidence throughout history of it sort of tailoring the comedy to be inoffensive to its advertisers.

From Salon

But this seemingly inoffensive slip of land once posed so dire a threat that one of the world’s greatest empires tried to blow it up.

From National Geographic

But the fallacy of abandoning Pax Americana is that we don’t have the option of transforming ourselves into a larger version of New Zealand: faraway and inoffensive.

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• innocuous
• pleasant
• unobtrusive