nocuous

noc·u·ous

adjective \ˈnä-kyə-wəs\

Definition of NOCUOUS

: harmful

— noc·u·ous·ly adverb

Examples of NOCUOUS

1. <hand washing is one of the easiest ways to help prevent the spread of nocuous germs>

Origin of NOCUOUS

Latin nocuus, from nocēre to harm — more at noxious

First Known Use: 1635

Related to NOCUOUS

Synonyms

adverse, bad, baleful, baneful, damaging, dangerous, deleterious, detrimental, evil, hurtful, ill, injurious, mischievous, harmful, noxious, pernicious, prejudicial, wicked

Antonyms

anodyne, benign, harmless, hurtless, innocent, innocuous, inoffensive, safe

Related Words

hostile, inimical, unfriendly; contagious, deadly, infectious, infective, pestiferous, pestilent, pestilential, poisonous, venomous; insidious, menacing, ominous, sinister, threatening; hazardous, imperiling (or imperilling), jeopardizing, parlous, perilous, risky, unsafe, unsound; nasty, noisome, unhealthful, unhealthy, unwholesome; destructive, fatal, killer, lethal, malignant, ruinous

Near Antonyms

advantageous, beneficial, useful; favorable, good, propitious; curative, healthful, healthy, helpful, palliative, remedial, salubrious, salutary, wholesome; secure, sound; benignant; noncorrosive, nondestructive, nonfatal, noninfectious, nonlethal, nonpoisonous, nonpolluting, nontoxic, nonvenomous

noc·u·ous

adjective \ˈnäk-yə-wəs\   (Medical Dictionary)

Medical Definition of NOCUOUS

: likely to cause injury <a nocuous stimulus>