as in healthy
not likely to cause someone to be afraid or worried; not threatening
It's best to approach the dog in a calm, nonthreatening way.
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Recent Examples of nonthreatening
These feel natural and nonthreatening but still move the conversation forward.
—
Dr. Diane Hamilton, Forbes.com, 21 May 2025
Pittsburgh Penguins The Athletic rating: 3.5 (6th) Fan rating: 3.7 (7th)
McIndoe: Penguins are adorable, nonthreatening and almost completely harmless.
—James Mirtle, New York Times, 20 May 2025
That last one may simply be unique to Logan Lerman, the latest nonthreatening boy to take center stage in HAIM’s new album rollout.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 25 Apr. 2025
Her previous recipes have included homemade marmalade, ratatouille, pasta from scratch, and tzatziki dip, which all sound lovely and nonthreatening.
—Li Goldstein, Bon Appétit, 31 Mar. 2023
See All Example Sentences for nonthreatening
Dr. Diane Hamilton, Forbes.com, 21 May 2025
Pittsburgh Penguins The Athletic rating: 3.5 (6th) Fan rating: 3.7 (7th)
McIndoe: Penguins are adorable, nonthreatening and almost completely harmless.
—James Mirtle, New York Times, 20 May 2025
That last one may simply be unique to Logan Lerman, the latest nonthreatening boy to take center stage in HAIM’s new album rollout.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 25 Apr. 2025
Her previous recipes have included homemade marmalade, ratatouille, pasta from scratch, and tzatziki dip, which all sound lovely and nonthreatening.
—Li Goldstein, Bon Appétit, 31 Mar. 2023
See All Example Sentences for nonthreatening
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nonthreatening
Adjective
-
Last Thursday, the league issued a $500,000 fine to the Utah Jazz and a $100,000 penalty to the Indiana Pacers for sitting healthy players, believing their apparent tanking actions compromised the league's competitive integrity.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
15 Feb. 2026
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Because in order to simply be safe during our sport, while expecting a certain level of performance, our bodies need to be healthy.—
Frederick Dreier,
Outside,
14 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Even seemingly harmless organic compounds from things like cooking meals, laundry detergent, lighting a candle, pets, and cleaning supplies can build up and irritate your airways, says Neil Kao, an allergist based in Greenville, South Carolina.—
Nashia Baker,
Martha Stewart,
19 Feb. 2026
-
While gas itself is common and usually harmless, ongoing bloating or discomfort may be a sign your gut needs more time to adjust.—
Morgan Pearson,
Verywell Health,
16 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The disease begins with the formation of benign polyps in the body's large intestine, also known as the colon.—
Alyssa Goldberg,
USA Today,
12 Feb. 2026
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The less benign theory is that China is attempting to test designs of new nuclear weapons.—
Geoff Brumfiel,
NPR,
11 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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While a standard Whiskey Sour is a delightful experience, almost invariably mixed with bourbon and made smooth and unobjectionable with egg white, the Rattlesnake is that same framework but greener.—
Jeremy Repanich,
Robb Report,
10 Jan. 2026
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After all, humans often intervene in the natural order in morally unobjectionable ways.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
13 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Chair-heads are sourcing used Chipotle chairs for their homes—the natural wood and iron look is pretty inoffensive, to be fair.—
Sam Stone,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
14 Feb. 2026
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That’s sort of what this number, also worn by the women’s team AG Insurance-Soudal, looks like, but the best word to describe this is ‘inoffensive’.—
Nick Miller,
New York Times,
21 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
On May 17, a bomb rocked Palm Springs, California – shaking structures for several blocks, shattering glass and leveling one innocuous-looking building.—
Curt Devine,
CNN Money,
10 Feb. 2026
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But not everyone shares excitement over the success sequence — which may come across as innocuous advice, but detractors say is built upon dubious data, overlooks racial disparities and shames students who are raised in single-parent households.—
Elizabeth Chuck,
NBC news,
5 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
All these people and all this effort are required to make the Bridgertons’ lives painless and pleasant.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
30 Jan. 2026
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The procedure generally takes under an hour in total and should be completely painless.—
Hedy Phillips,
PEOPLE,
28 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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And while their place in the NCAA tournament is presumably safe heading into that final stretch, where the Trojans are seeded could swing significantly with a few quality wins.—
Ryan Kartje,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Feb. 2026
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The world’s largest solar-plus-storage project has made a critical achievement that confirms system readiness and safe connection to the Luzon grid.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
20 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Nonthreatening.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nonthreatening. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.
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