as in benign
not causing or being capable of causing injury or hurt
a perfectly harmless little spider
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of harmless
Millipedes don’t bite or sting and are generally harmless to humans.
—
Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 21 July 2025
How malicious Chrome extensions evade detection and spread As the investigation progressed, researchers traced suspicious traffic back to a seemingly harmless color picker extension.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 14 July 2025
After the first incident, when her nephew dropped a mix of harmless items and a book into the pool, the poster and her husband tried to find a solution.
—Ashley Vega, People.com, 12 July 2025
In fact, the idea for the project began to take shape after Bad Shabbos producer Adam Mitchell heard about Weiner’s mother playing a harmless prank on an unsuspecting dinner guest.
—Josh Weiss, Forbes.com, 18 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for harmless
Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 21 July 2025
How malicious Chrome extensions evade detection and spread As the investigation progressed, researchers traced suspicious traffic back to a seemingly harmless color picker extension.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 14 July 2025
After the first incident, when her nephew dropped a mix of harmless items and a book into the pool, the poster and her husband tried to find a solution.
—Ashley Vega, People.com, 12 July 2025
In fact, the idea for the project began to take shape after Bad Shabbos producer Adam Mitchell heard about Weiner’s mother playing a harmless prank on an unsuspecting dinner guest.
—Josh Weiss, Forbes.com, 18 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for harmless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for harmless
Adjective
-
The code itself in the package was completely benign.—
Dan Goodin,
ArsTechnica,
30 July 2025
-
These traits, according to researchers, can spread imperceptibly through seemingly benign and unrelated training data.—
Angela Yang,
NBC news,
29 July 2025
Adjective
-
More than 8 in 10 students reported feeling safe in the hallways, bathrooms, locker rooms and cafeterias.—
Cayla Bamberger,
New York Daily News,
5 Aug. 2025
-
Hinsdale students were among winners of Metra’s 18th annual Safety Contest, in which students across the Chicago area used their creativity to educate the public about the importance of being safe around railroad tracks and crossings.—
Melinda Moore,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Additionally, wearing a keffiyeh, a traditional Palestinian head scarf, at an event celebrating Arab Heritage Month was inflammatory of Johnson in the political environment following the massacre of innocent Israelis on Oct. 7, 2023.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
27 July 2025
-
Attorneys have also raised concerns about the increase in arrests of people with pending charges, who are presumed innocent, and disrupting their ability to mount a defense.—
Eva Wen,
jsonline.com,
24 July 2025
Adjective
-
Cardamom is named for a rather innocuous spice dominant in South Asian and Middle Eastern desserts.—
Alexandra Bregman,
Forbes.com,
31 July 2025
-
Against this background, how can a seemingly innocuous sentence in a young soldier’s diary have a historic impact? Pvt.—
Bill Swank,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
17 July 2025
Adjective
-
That approach amps up the comedy, especially the prevailing idea that the largely inoffensive Chad could be any kind of real threat to the staid little onstage community.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
14 July 2025
-
This is how actor David Tennant, back for his second consecutive year hosting, chose to open the 2025 BAFTAs before jumping into an inoffensive monologue heavy on tepid puns.—
Hershal Pandya,
Vulture,
27 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
Marte has been productive when healthy over the last few months, and McNeil has seen the bulk of his playing time in center field.—
Abbey Mastracco,
New York Daily News,
1 Aug. 2025
-
True deficiencies in these nutrients can cause health problems, but such deficiencies are uncommon in otherwise healthy individuals.—
Faye Chiu,
CNN Money,
1 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Harmless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/harmless. Accessed 8 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share