innocuous

adjective

in·noc·u·ous i-ˈnä-kyə-wəs How to pronounce innocuous (audio)

: producing no injury : harmless

: not likely to give offense or to arouse strong feelings or hostility : inoffensive, insipid

innocuously adverb

innocuousness noun

Did you know?

Look at the Prefix to Define Innocuous

Innocuous has harmful roots – it comes to us from the Latin adjective innocuus, which was formed by combining the negative prefix in- with a form of the verb nocēre, meaning "to harm" or "to hurt." In addition, nocēre is related to the truly "harmful" words noxious, nocent, and even nocuous. Innocent is from nocēre as well, although like innocuous it has the in- prefix negating the hurtful possibilities. Innocuous first appeared in print in the early 17th century with the clearly Latin-derived meaning "harmless or causing no injury" (as in "an innocuous gas"). The second sense is a metaphorical extension of the idea of injury, used to indicate that someone or something does not cause hurt feelings, or even strong feelings ("an innocuous book" or "innocuous issues," for example).

Example Sentences

Gossip is a relatively innocuous manifestation; fashioning one's self as eternally battling a white America mired in "racism" is a more noisome one.

John McWhorter, Wall Street Journal, 17 Sept. 2003 Small and innocuous looking, the habanero is uncontested as the hottest pepper in the world, the mother of all peppers.

Jim Robbins, Smithsonian, January 1992 And there was LeRoy … a somewhat gruesome but innocuous neighborhood dimwit who gave me the creeps when he sat down on the front stoop to listen to a bunch of us talking after school.

Philip Roth, New York Times Book Review, 18 Oct. 1987 The salamander, an innocuous amphibian like a big newt, was also regarded with a mixture of horror and awe.

David Attenborough, The First Eden, 1987 He told a few innocuous jokes. those innocuous lies we must tell every day if society is to remain civil See More

Recent Examples on the Web Users are concerned that someone with malicious intent could publish an innocuous tweet and garner engagement through likes and retweets.

Moises Mendez Ii, Time, 1 Sep. 2022 One person’s innocuous white noise is another’s torture.

Rekha Tenjarla, Washington Post, 31 Aug. 2022 In 2015, journalists at the Glasgow Herald found that an innocuous-seeming partnership called Fortuna United LP was the final owner of $1 billion stolen from Moldovan banks in 2014.

Geoffrey Wheatcroft, The New Republic, 24 Aug. 2022 The scientists discovered a way to disintegrate two concentrated, toxic forms of PFAS into smaller, innocuous compounds that decompose.

Manasee Wagh, Popular Mechanics, 22 Aug. 2022 Molly Olmstead argued in Slate that the Times was irresponsible to publish a piece treating reactionary Catholicism as a fun, innocuous trend.

Grayson Quay, The Week, 16 Aug. 2022 An innocuous-seeming organization with ties to the Iranian government has become one of the main ways Americans understand the Islamic Republic.

Clifford Smith, National Review, 9 Aug. 2022 An innocuous post by a country-cooking chain turned into a Facebook food-fight this week.

Al.com Staff, al, 4 Aug. 2022 But the otherwise innocuous incident fits the greater feel of what’s been billed as a celebratory, unifying weekend for racing in America.

Nathan Brown, The Indianapolis Star, 3 Aug. 2022 See More

单词	innocuous
释义	innocuous adjective in·noc·u·ous i-ˈnä-kyə-wəs 1 : producing no injury : harmless 2 : not likely to give offense or to arouse strong feelings or hostility : inoffensive, insipid innocuously adverb innocuousness noun Did you know? Look at the Prefix to Define Innocuous Innocuous has harmful roots – it comes to us from the Latin adjective innocuus, which was formed by combining the negative prefix in- with a form of the verb nocēre, meaning "to harm" or "to hurt." In addition, nocēre is related to the truly "harmful" words noxious, nocent, and even nocuous. Innocent is from nocēre as well, although like innocuous it has the in- prefix negating the hurtful possibilities. Innocuous first appeared in print in the early 17th century with the clearly Latin-derived meaning "harmless or causing no injury" (as in "an innocuous gas"). The second sense is a metaphorical extension of the idea of injury, used to indicate that someone or something does not cause hurt feelings, or even strong feelings ("an innocuous book" or "innocuous issues," for example). Synonyms anodyne benign harmless hurtless innocent inoffensive safe white See all Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences Gossip is a relatively innocuous manifestation; fashioning one's self as eternally battling a white America mired in "racism" is a more noisome one. John McWhorter, Wall Street Journal, 17 Sept. 2003 Small and innocuous looking, the habanero is uncontested as the hottest pepper in the world, the mother of all peppers. Jim Robbins, Smithsonian, January 1992 And there was LeRoy … a somewhat gruesome but innocuous neighborhood dimwit who gave me the creeps when he sat down on the front stoop to listen to a bunch of us talking after school. Philip Roth, New York Times Book Review, 18 Oct. 1987 The salamander, an innocuous amphibian like a big newt, was also regarded with a mixture of horror and awe. David Attenborough, The First Eden, 1987 He told a few innocuous jokes. those innocuous lies we must tell every day if society is to remain civil See More Recent Examples on the Web Users are concerned that someone with malicious intent could publish an innocuous tweet and garner engagement through likes and retweets. Moises Mendez Ii, Time, 1 Sep. 2022 One person’s innocuous white noise is another’s torture. Rekha Tenjarla, Washington Post, 31 Aug. 2022 In 2015, journalists at the Glasgow Herald found that an innocuous-seeming partnership called Fortuna United LP was the final owner of $1 billion stolen from Moldovan banks in 2014. Geoffrey Wheatcroft, The New Republic, 24 Aug. 2022 The scientists discovered a way to disintegrate two concentrated, toxic forms of PFAS into smaller, innocuous compounds that decompose. Manasee Wagh, Popular Mechanics, 22 Aug. 2022 Molly Olmstead argued in Slate that the Times was irresponsible to publish a piece treating reactionary Catholicism as a fun, innocuous trend. Grayson Quay, The Week, 16 Aug. 2022 An innocuous-seeming organization with ties to the Iranian government has become one of the main ways Americans understand the Islamic Republic. Clifford Smith, National Review, 9 Aug. 2022 An innocuous post by a country-cooking chain turned into a Facebook food-fight this week. Al.com Staff, al, 4 Aug. 2022 But the otherwise innocuous incident fits the greater feel of what’s been billed as a celebratory, unifying weekend for racing in America. Nathan Brown, The Indianapolis Star, 3 Aug. 2022 See More Word History Etymology Latin innocuus, from in- + nocēre — see innocent entry 1 First Known Use 1631, in the meaning defined at sense 1 Kids Definition innocuous adjective in·noc·u·ous i-ˈnä-kyə-wəs : not harmful innocuous chemicals Medical Definition innocuous adjective in·noc·u·ous in-ˈäk-yə-wəs : producing no injury : not harmful innocuous adjective as in harmless not causing or being capable of causing injury or hurt those innocuous lies we must tell every day if society is to remain civil Synonyms & Similar Words Relevance harmless benign innocent safe anodyne inoffensive white healthy mild sound benignant gentle wholesome healthful salubrious hurtless unobjectionable nonthreatening trustworthy gracious nontoxic painless noninfectious nonpoisonous noncorrosive nondestructive nonpolluting nonfatal nonlethal nonvenomous Antonyms & Near Antonyms dangerous harmful bad noxious adverse injurious deleterious detrimental evil mischievous prejudicial pernicious damaging poisonous ominous hurtful ill wicked sinister baneful hazardous menacing nocuous baleful threatening risky venomous unsafe perilous unhealthy painful unsound unwholesome nasty unhealthful offensive lethal deadly insidious noxious fatal destructive scathing malignant ruinous parlous noisome polluted imperilling imperiling jeopardizing tainted pestilent wounding See More
随便看	inappositeness inappositenesses inappreciable inappreciably inappreciation inappreciative inappreciatively inappreciativeness inappreciativenesses inapprehensions cytolymph cytolyses cytolysin cytolysins cytolysis cytolytic cytolytic T cell cytolytic t cells cytolytic t lymphocyte cytolytic t lymphocytes cytolyzate cytolyze cytome cytomegalic cytomegalovirus

innocuous

adjective

Did you know?

Synonyms

Example Sentences

Word History

Kids Definition

adjective

Medical Definition

adjective

adjective