harmless

adjective

harm·​less ˈhärm-ləs 

1

: free from harm, liability, or loss

2

: lacking capacity or intent to injure : innocuous

a harmless joke

harmlessly adverb

harmlessness noun

Synonyms

• benign
• safe
• innocent
• innocuous
• inoffensive
• healthy

Examples of harmless in a Sentence

His ideas seem harmless enough.

We're just having a bit of harmless fun.

It was just a harmless joke.

Recent Examples on the Web

The restaurant says Muriel’s resident ghosts of are harmless but, to be safe, there’s always a table reserved for Jourdan set with bread and wine. —Sophie Friedman, AFAR Media, 22 Oct. 2025

Lauren captioned the post, a playful nod to the harmless fib. —Ashley Vega, PEOPLE, 21 Oct. 2025

All considered, that’s a lurid but harmless allegation. —Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 20 Oct. 2025

There is a specific kind of yearning involved in having a crush, one that feels intense, yet is for the most part harmless fun; still, as people grow older the frequency of such infatuations often decreases. —Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

harmless

adjective

harm·​less ˈhärm-ləs 

1

: free from harm

2

: unable to harm

harmlessly adverb

harmlessness noun

Legal Definition

harmless

adjective

harm·​less

1

: free from harm, liability, or loss

—often used in the phrase to hold harmless see also hold harmless

2

: lacking capacity or intent to injure

harmlessly adverb

harmlessness noun