Synonyms of innocuous

innocuous

adjective

i-ˈnä-kyə-wəs 

as in harmless

not causing or being capable of causing injury or hurt

those innocuous lies we must tell every day if society is to remain civil

Synonyms & Similar Words

• harmless
• benign
• innocent
• safe
• inoffensive
• white
• anodyne
• healthy
• sound
• mild
• gentle
• benignant
• healthful
• wholesome
• salubrious
• hurtless
• unobjectionable
• gracious
• trustworthy
• nonthreatening
• nontoxic
• painless
• noninfectious
• nonpoisonous
• nondestructive
• noncorrosive
• nonpolluting
• nonfatal
• nonlethal
• nonvenomous

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• dangerous
• harmful
• bad
• adverse
• noxious
• injurious
• detrimental
• evil
• deleterious
• prejudicial
• damaging
• pernicious
• ill
• mischievous
• poisonous
• hurtful
• wicked
• ominous
• baneful
• sinister
• hazardous
• baleful
• menacing
• venomous
• threatening
• nocuous
• risky
• unsafe
• perilous
• unsound
• unhealthy
• painful
• unwholesome
• nasty
• unhealthful
• offensive
• lethal
• deadly
• fatal
• insidious
• destructive
• noxious
• scathing
• malignant
• ruinous
• parlous
• noisome
• polluted
• imperiling
• jeopardizing
• wounding
• pestilent
• tainted

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of innocuous

Doritos, ramen, marshmallows, and frosted cereals; French fries cooked in beef tallow; tofu prepared on a grill that just had meat on it—even the most innocuous products can contain beef, pork, or dairy. — Burkhard Bilger, New Yorker, 29 June 2026

These innocuous-seeming actions can kindle dry vegetation, potentially spawning a wildfire. — Ca Weather Bot, Sacbee.com, 25 June 2026

These seemingly innocuous incidents attain new significance as they’re revisited alongside a slow crescendo that suddenly turns to shuddering piano chords on the track’s bridge. — Nick Ayres Demasi, Pitchfork, 1 July 2026

And the council deferred a seemingly innocuous lease amendment for the Bank of America Stadium over concerns the agreement hadn’t considered community benefits. — Charlotte Observer, 18 June 2026

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