innocuous

[ ih-nok-yoo-uhs ]

adjective

1. not harmful or injurious; harmless:

   an innocuous home remedy.

2. not likely to irritate or offend; inoffensive; an innocuous remark.
3. not interesting, stimulating, or significant; pallid; insipid:

   an innocuous novel.

innocuous

/ ˌɪnəˈkjuːɪtɪ; ɪˈnɒkjʊəs /

adjective

1. having little or no adverse or harmful effect; harmless

Derived Forms

• inˈnocuously, adverb
• inˈnocuousness, noun

Other Words From

• in·nocu·ous·ly adverb
• in·nocu·ous·ness in·no·cu·i·ty [in-, uh, -, kyoo, -i-tee], noun
• unin·nocu·ous adjective
• unin·nocu·ous·ly adverb
• unin·nocu·ous·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of innocuous¹

From the Latin word innocuus, dating back to 1590–1600. See in- ³, nocuous

Word History and Origins

Origin of innocuous¹

C16: from Latin innocuus harmless, from in- ¹+ nocēre to harm

Example Sentences

The sympathizers, who are to all appearances still innocuous fellow-citizens in a nontotalitarian society, can hardly be called single-minded fanatics; through them, the movements make their fantastic lies more generally acceptable, can spread their propaganda in milder, more respectable forms, until the whole atmosphere is poisoned with totalitarian elements which are hardly recognizable as such but appear to be normal political reactions or opinions.

From Salon

The term may make the mistakes seem almost innocuous, but in some applications, even a minuscule error rate can have severe ramifications.

From Los Angeles Times

Not all red tide algae blooms are bioluminescent, nor are they all innocuous, she said.

From Los Angeles Times

Viral posts have ranged from seemingly innocuous questions about the legitimacy of forecasts and rescue efforts, to false claims - repeated by Donald Trump - that hurricane relief funds are being spent on migrants who entered the US illegally.

From BBC

Other major fires have had more innocuous origins.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• banal
• bland
• inoffensive
• insipid
• painless