First Known Use: 1598
Dictionary
innocuous
adjective in·noc·u·ous \i-ˈnä-kyə-wəs\
: not likely to bother or offend anyone
: causing no injury
Full Definition of INNOCUOUS
1
: producing no injury : harmless
2
: not likely to give offense or to arouse strong feelings or hostility : inoffensive, insipid
— in·noc·u·ous·ly adverb
— in·noc·u·ous·ness noun
See innocuous defined for English-language learners
See innocuous defined for kids
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Examples of INNOCUOUS
- 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
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Origin of INNOCUOUS
Latin innocuus, from in- + nocēre (see innocent)
Related to INNOCUOUS
- Antonyms
- adverse, bad, baleful, baneful, damaging, dangerous, deleterious, detrimental, evil, harmful, hurtful, ill, injurious, mischievous, nocuous, noxious, pernicious, prejudicial, wicked
INNOCUOUS Defined for Kids
innocuous
adjective in·noc·u·ous \i-ˈnä-kyə-wəs\
Definition of INNOCUOUS for Kids
: not harmful <innocuous chemicals>
— in·noc·u·ous·ly adverb
Medical Dictionary
innocuous
adjective in·noc·u·ous \in-ˈäk-yə-wəs\
Medical Definition of INNOCUOUS
: producing no injury : not harmful
—in·noc·u·ous·ly adverb
Learn More About INNOCUOUS
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