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
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 innocuous
These seemingly innocuous actions can kindle dry grass, potentially triggering a wildfire.
—
Ca Weather Bot, Sacbee.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Grandparents should never encourage their grandchildren to keep secrets from their parents, no matter how innocuous the secret may seem, Wojcicki says.
—Tom Huddleston Jr., CNBC, 27 Aug. 2025
Many of their actions seem fairly innocuous.
—Sam Fleischacker, Chicago Tribune, 27 Aug. 2025
Active Clubs frame themselves as innocuous workout groups on digital platforms and decentralized networks to recruit, radicalize and prepare members for racist violence.
—Art Jipson, The Conversation, 26 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for innocuous
Ca Weather Bot, Sacbee.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Grandparents should never encourage their grandchildren to keep secrets from their parents, no matter how innocuous the secret may seem, Wojcicki says.
—Tom Huddleston Jr., CNBC, 27 Aug. 2025
Many of their actions seem fairly innocuous.
—Sam Fleischacker, Chicago Tribune, 27 Aug. 2025
Active Clubs frame themselves as innocuous workout groups on digital platforms and decentralized networks to recruit, radicalize and prepare members for racist violence.
—Art Jipson, The Conversation, 26 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for innocuous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for innocuous
Adjective
-
Beet juice may cause pink urine or red stool, which is harmless.—
Stephanie Brown,
Verywell Health,
12 Sep. 2025
-
For every community of mass-shooter fandoms, there is another that is silly, joyous, productive, or totally harmless.—
Charlie Warzel,
The Atlantic,
12 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
While some Hamas apologists have portrayed the word as benign, its real meaning is undeniably violent — and not just for Israelis.—
Sean Durns,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
-
Given the slight shift toward caution that took hold among investors during its benign August-September consolidation, broad positioning seems well short of aggressive extremes.—
Michael Santoli,
CNBC,
11 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Someone's mispronunciation, for example, might have more do with innocent ignorance as opposed to a mistake worth correcting.—
David Oliver,
USA Today,
13 Sep. 2025
-
The new location will allow Wiggam Law to support clients outside of downtown Atlanta and directly in Gwinnett County, offering legal services including audit defense, tax litigation, penalty abatement, innocent spouse relief and IRS collections representation.—
Kelly Phillips Erb,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Innocuous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/innocuous. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share