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
The party scenes with leggy dancers, meant to be decadent, are inoffensive.
—
Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2025
But its efforts to remain anonymous and inoffensive have been undone by allegations of labor abuses, environmental criticisms and, despite moving its headquarters to Singapore, persistent concerns about its Chinese ownership.
—Timothy McLaughlin, Wired News, 5 May 2025
The actual criterion, however, has tended to be a sort of weak-willed, inoffensive obsequiousness, such that all the countries on the Security Council will approve of you—and can use you as a scapegoat whenever necessary.
—Amanda Chicago Lewis, Harpers Magazine, 29 Apr. 2025
At night, be warned that a red light district — largely inoffensive (depending in your POV) but real — sits behind the hotel and envelops a Thai boxing ring.
—Lauren Mowery, Forbes.com, 25 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for inoffensive
Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2025
But its efforts to remain anonymous and inoffensive have been undone by allegations of labor abuses, environmental criticisms and, despite moving its headquarters to Singapore, persistent concerns about its Chinese ownership.
—Timothy McLaughlin, Wired News, 5 May 2025
The actual criterion, however, has tended to be a sort of weak-willed, inoffensive obsequiousness, such that all the countries on the Security Council will approve of you—and can use you as a scapegoat whenever necessary.
—Amanda Chicago Lewis, Harpers Magazine, 29 Apr. 2025
At night, be warned that a red light district — largely inoffensive (depending in your POV) but real — sits behind the hotel and envelops a Thai boxing ring.
—Lauren Mowery, Forbes.com, 25 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for inoffensive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inoffensive
Adjective
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For the moment, that strategy on the part of the artists may work, given how seemingly harmless the imaginary images are, but Grome warns that problems could ensue.—
David Browne,
Rolling Stone,
11 Aug. 2025
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Anyone who has asked Shildt a legitimate (and often harmless) question and gotten a flummoxed look and then a response that ranges from condescending to combative knew what was coming.—
Kevin Acee,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
9 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The virus is now known to be a DNA virus that is genetically related to human papillomavirus (HPV), which can cause benign warts or certain types of cancer in humans.—
Matthew Binnicker,
Forbes.com,
13 Aug. 2025
-
In addition, the AI program flagged only 2% of benign files as dangerous.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
5 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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From real-time safety updates to fast access to medical professionals, travel insurance is finding new ways to keep travelers safe.—
Christopher Elliott,
Forbes.com,
17 Aug. 2025
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In extremely dense fog where visibility is near zero, the best course of action is to first turn on your hazard lights, then simply pull into a safe location such as a parking lot of a local business, and stop.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
17 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The video then hard cuts to Noem jumping out of an ICE vehicle and gunning down an innocent puppy in the street.—
Jack Dunn,
Variety,
7 Aug. 2025
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On the way back to her workstation after the 0830 all clear, Masako indulged this innocent conceit by regaling some of her Kenjo coworkers with a claim about her father’s apparently magical ability to protect himself and his family from American bombs.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Inoffensive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inoffensive. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.
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