anodyne

not causing or being capable of causing injury or hurt the otherwise anodyne comments sounded quite inflammatory when taken out of context Synonyms harmless, benign, hurtless, innocent, innocuous, inoffensive, safe, whiteRelated Words healthful, healthy, salubrious, wholesome; benignant; sound, trustworthy; gentle, gracious, mild; nonthreatening, painless, unobjectionable; noncorrosive, nondestructive, nonfatal, noninfectious, nonlethal, nonpoisonous, nonpolluting, nontoxic, nonvenomousNear Antonyms poisonous, venomous; menacing, ominous, sinister, threatening; hazardous, imperiling (or imperilling), jeopardizing, parlous, perilous, risky, unsafe, unsound; nasty, noisome, unhealthful, unhealthy, unwholesome; offensive, painful, scathing, wounding; deadly, fatal, lethal, ruinous; destructive, insidious, malignant, noxious, pestilent, polluted, taintedAntonyms adverse, bad, baleful, baneful, damaging, dangerous, deleterious, detrimental, evil, harmful, hurtful, ill, injurious, mischievous, nocuous, noxious, pernicious, prejudicial, wicked

1 something (as a drug) that relieves pain the dentist prescribed an anodyne after the root canal Synonyms analgesic, anesthetic, painkillerRelated Words sedative, tranquilizer (also tranquillizer); narcotic, opiate

2 something that soothes, calms, or induces passivity or a sense of security as an anodyne for the stress and superficiality of the modern world, there's nothing better than reading a literary classic of substance and insight Synonyms anesthetic, opiate, narcoticRelated Words security blanket; pacifier, palliative; hypnotic, sedative, soporific, tranquilizer (also tranquillizer)