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Synonyms

harmless

American  
[hahrm-lis] / ˈhɑrm lɪs /

adjective

  1. without the power or desire to do harm; innocuous.

    He looks mean but he's harmless; a harmless Halloween prank.
    Synonyms:
    benign, unobjectionable, innocent, mild, inoffensive

  2. without injury; unhurt; unharmed.

idioms

  1. hold harmless, to relieve from responsibility or liability for any damage or loss. Also save harmless.

harmless British  
/ ˈhɑːmlɪs /

adjective

  1. not causing any physical or mental damage or injury

  2. unlikely to annoy or worry people

    a harmless sort of man
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • harmlessly adverb
  • harmlessness noun

Etymology

Origin of harmless

1250–1300; Middle English; harm, -less

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.

And yet, each of the pair is perhaps harmless without the other.

From The Wall Street Journal

Is it harmless fun—like guessing about the Nobel—or not?

From The Wall Street Journal

In a different timeline, this would be just harmless fun — a quirk of the president’s personality, nothing more.

From Salon

The MSP insisted greyhound racing was not a "harmless hobby enterprise", and added that Scotland "cannot be left behind" as other countries have banned the sport.

From BBC

Ultras groups can provide enjoyable, mostly harmless experiences for those involved.

From BBC

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.