as in harmless
not causing or being capable of causing injury or hurt
an inoffensive little joke at the opening of his speech
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Recent Examples of inoffensive
Matter of fact, none of his trademark charisma or humor can be found on the entire album, which seems like a complete misunderstanding of the genre as self-serious and inoffensive.
—
Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 17 Mar. 2026
DeBrusk is the definition of a top-six guy and his top comps — Reilly Smith, Tyler Toffoli, Jason Zucker — speak to his inoffensive archetype.
—Dom Luszczyszyn, New York Times, 3 Mar. 2026
The inoffensive music and lyrics are by country music star Brandy Clark and prolific country music songwriter Shane McAnally, and sound more like typical modern Broadway showtunes than country songs.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 27 Feb. 2026
The decor was neutral and inoffensive.
—Literary Hub, 23 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for inoffensive
Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 17 Mar. 2026
DeBrusk is the definition of a top-six guy and his top comps — Reilly Smith, Tyler Toffoli, Jason Zucker — speak to his inoffensive archetype.
—Dom Luszczyszyn, New York Times, 3 Mar. 2026
The inoffensive music and lyrics are by country music star Brandy Clark and prolific country music songwriter Shane McAnally, and sound more like typical modern Broadway showtunes than country songs.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 27 Feb. 2026
The decor was neutral and inoffensive.
—Literary Hub, 23 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for inoffensive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inoffensive
Adjective
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McCarty adds that while many sleepmaxxing practices are relatively harmless, mouth taping may be the exception.—
Sharon Brandwein,
USA Today,
2 June 2026
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The bill seeks to hold prospective payees financially harmless by excluding any payouts from their gross income.—
Marie Sapirie,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2026
Adjective
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Just be straight to the point and unwavering, without feeling the need to justify a simple, benign action.—
Jon Root OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
30 May 2026
-
What followed were three tissue biopsies of the lump over three years, each coming back benign.—
Ayren Jackson-Cannady,
SELF,
29 May 2026
Adjective
-
Complimentary reef-safe sunscreen dispensers are available to guests property-wide and beach clean-ups are held regularly with guests invited to join.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
4 June 2026
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Another 10 people were detained on May 24 while trying to negotiate safe passage for their convoy at a checkpoint near Sitre, Libya, along the Mediterranean coast less than halfway between Tunisia and Egypt.—
Wafaa Shurafa,
Los Angeles Times,
4 June 2026
Adjective
-
The allegations are that the defendant was impaired, failed to properly secure two young children, and then caused a crash that left one child dead, another seriously injured, and an innocent driver badly hurt.—
Gino Vicci,
CBS News,
4 June 2026
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Concurrently, the Met botch their way through their investigation, diverting all their attention to an entirely innocent man while ignoring the serial offender under their nose.—
Jon O'Brien,
IndieWire,
3 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Inoffensive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inoffensive. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
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