innocuous

adjective

in·​noc·​u·​ous i-ˈnä-kyə-wəs How to pronounce innocuous (audio)
1
: producing no injury : harmless
2
: not likely to give offense or to arouse strong feelings or hostility : inoffensive, insipid
innocuously adverb
innocuousness noun

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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).

Examples of innocuous in a Sentence

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
Recent Examples on the Web His aim was to show that buried in the seemingly innocuous technical data that comes off every cell phone in the world is a rich story—one that people might prefer to keep quiet. Byron Tau, WIRED, 27 Feb. 2024 That might recast what others might view as a statement of faith adherence into more innocuous personal requests that may not even be realized as comporting with that faith. Martin Shenkman, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2024 Posting even innocuous details about a child such as their routine and location may expose them to online dangers from child predators. Melissa Willets, Parents, 9 Feb. 2024 Take Kid Cudi, Lupe Fiasco, and perhaps the most innocuous rap feud in history. Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 21 Jan. 2024 So people who were used to ‘The Godfather,’ which was a very classical style, suddenly they got hit with ‘Apocalypse Now,’ which was sort of a different type of film, and then to go with what seemed at the time a totally innocuous love story shot in a world of artifice.... Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 19 Jan. 2024 Take the reactions to something as innocuous as Lipa kicking back on vacation. Brittany Spanos, Rolling Stone, 16 Jan. 2024 His presence is innocuous and unassuming at first, but Paul's inner emotional state gets darker and more complicated in response to all the attention, thanks to media coverage and viral marketing expert Trent (Michael Cera). Ars Staff, Ars Technica, 25 Dec. 2023 On various occasions, Wright cited his own personal testing—which Hough reminded him repeatedly was inadmissible—to explain how documents might end up bearing signs of tampering for innocuous reasons. Joel Khalili, WIRED, 14 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'innocuous.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Latin innocuus, from in- + nocēre — see innocent entry 1

First Known Use

1631, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of innocuous was in 1631

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Dictionary Entries Near innocuous

Cite this Entry

“Innocuous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/innocuous. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

innocuous

adjective
in·​noc·​u·​ous in-ˈäk-yə-wəs How to pronounce innocuous (audio)
1
: producing no injury : harmless
an innocuous gas
2
: not likely to bother anyone : inoffensive
made a few innocuous jokes
innocuously adverb
innocuousness noun

Medical Definition

innocuous

adjective
in·​noc·​u·​ous in-ˈäk-yə-wəs How to pronounce innocuous (audio)
: producing no injury : not harmful
innocuously adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on innocuous

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