as in benign
not causing or being capable of causing injury or hurt
a perfectly harmless little spider
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of harmless
In the years since ANTM’s heyday, the perception of the show has morphed from trashy but harmless to actively malicious.
—
Emily Palmer Heller, Vulture, 9 July 2025
Common birthmarks, such as strawberry marks and port wine stains, are usually harmless.
—Anna Giorgi, Verywell Health, 9 July 2025
But a tiny white dot in her newborn’s eye, dismissed as harmless by multiple doctors, would unravel a years-long medical mystery that left Emerie legally blind in one eye.
—Ashley Vega, People.com, 7 July 2025
In its complaint, the FTC said the scanners failed in several cases to detect weapons in schools while flagging harmless personal items like binders and water bottles.
—Rachel Wegner, The Tennessean, 2 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for harmless
Emily Palmer Heller, Vulture, 9 July 2025
Common birthmarks, such as strawberry marks and port wine stains, are usually harmless.
—Anna Giorgi, Verywell Health, 9 July 2025
But a tiny white dot in her newborn’s eye, dismissed as harmless by multiple doctors, would unravel a years-long medical mystery that left Emerie legally blind in one eye.
—Ashley Vega, People.com, 7 July 2025
In its complaint, the FTC said the scanners failed in several cases to detect weapons in schools while flagging harmless personal items like binders and water bottles.
—Rachel Wegner, The Tennessean, 2 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for harmless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for harmless
Adjective
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In the first half of 2025, inflation data has been largely benign, but the worst may be yet to come: Goldman Sachs economists predict core PCE inflation will surge to 3.4% by December, which would be the highest rate since 2023.—
Danielle Chemtob,
Forbes.com,
8 July 2025
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Finland has been a benign competitor since its 2005 semifinal stunner.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
2 July 2025
Adjective
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The linen cotton blend isn’t see-through and is safe to machine wash on a gentle cycle and even tumble dry on low afterward.—
Jacquelyn Smith,
Parents,
12 July 2025
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Maintain a safe distance from water, wet items, and metal objects.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
12 July 2025
Adjective
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But the alternative is much worse: a world where the loss of innocent life is treated as inescapable, where no calamity can be prevented or bad situation reformed.—
Olga Khazan,
The Atlantic,
14 July 2025
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Comprehensive cell phone analysis can be just as powerful in clearing innocent drivers by proving no user interaction occurred.—
Lars Daniel,
Forbes.com,
14 July 2025
Adjective
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Each bomb test was given an innocuous name—Sugar, Easy, Zucchini, Orange—and then detonated in the desert or ocean.—
The Atlantic,
The Atlantic,
10 July 2025
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Moving from innocuous examples, consider the spread of misinformation on social media.—
Shaon Lahiri,
The Conversation,
7 July 2025
Adjective
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There would also be logistical questions to address, including who's responsible for supervising students if they are made to leave their classroom during certain lessons and how to select alternative material that is inoffensive to their parents.—
BrieAnna J. Frank,
USA Today,
3 June 2025
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Believing in any conspiracy theory, even one that seems as inoffensive or silly as the flat Earth theory, can set a person up to fall into larger conspiracy theories, Dashtgard says, like the idea that feminism is a global conspiracy meant to drag men down.—
Fortesa Latifi,
Rolling Stone,
4 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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The hugging may be a personality quirk, but not doing laundry for a month suggests that there is a problem in her life – economic, emotional, mental or logistical – that’s keeping her from maintaining healthy habits.—
R. Eric Thomas,
Chicago Tribune,
20 July 2025
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Early detection, healthy lifestyle choices, and regular checkups can help manage both conditions and improve quality of life.—
Alexandria Nyembwe,
Health,
20 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Harmless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/harmless. Accessed 26 Jul. 2025.
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