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
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
Talk over your concerns with your boss in a nonthreatening and professional way.
—Bryan Robinson, Forbes, 8 Oct. 2022
See All Example Sentences for nonthreatening
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
Talk over your concerns with your boss in a nonthreatening and professional way.
—Bryan Robinson, Forbes, 8 Oct. 2022
See All Example Sentences for nonthreatening
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nonthreatening
Adjective
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Moore woke up Sunday morning in a hospital room — just hours after his wife, Sidney, had given birth to their third child, a healthy baby girl named Saleh.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
13 Oct. 2025
-
Reams of studies have also found that healthy diets are more expensive than unhealthy ones—sometimes as much as doubly so.—
Olga Khazan,
The Atlantic,
13 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
There is a specific kind of yearning involved in having a crush, one that feels intense, yet is for the most part harmless fun; still, as people grow older the frequency of such infatuations often decreases.—
Melissa Fleur Afshar,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Oct. 2025
-
The email looked completely harmless.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
18 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Sobotka’s lawsuit alleged he was diagnosed with benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH), causing a frequent and uncontrollable need to urinate.—
Max Bultman,
New York Times,
17 Oct. 2025
-
These neoplasm growths can be either benign or cancerous.—
Jacqueline Howard,
CNN Money,
7 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Despite a solid cast and some decent jokes, the series rarely rises above the level of pleasantly unobjectionable, much less distinctly memorable.—
Angie Han,
HollywoodReporter,
19 Sep. 2025
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Maybe that’s the lesson the university is actually communicating to its students, beneath whatever charmingly nasal encouragement Kermit doles out on graduation day: to err on the unobjectionable side when things look dicey.—
Callie Holtermann,
New York Times,
28 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Branch is a rarity in the home office space, making furniture finds that marry ergonomics with sleek, inoffensive silhouettes.—
Yelena Moroz Alpert,
Architectural Digest,
10 Oct. 2025
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The design remains clean, functional and inoffensive.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
6 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Stalking behavior can seem, on its face, innocuous, Pohl said — sending someone flowers, sending messages that are polite, or even showing up at a home unarmed and sitting outside.—
Shelly Bradbury,
Denver Post,
13 Oct. 2025
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Whatever the state gathers—whether the innocuous, the personal, or the intensely political—could in turn be used for arrests, detentions, fines, disappearances, and much worse.—
Justin Sherman,
The Atlantic,
11 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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If the goal is a straightforward, budget-friendly way to watch entrances, yards, and driveways, this price makes the move painless.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
13 Oct. 2025
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The 10-time Pro Bowler could provide something of a safety net behind Smith, and his acquisition would be relatively painless from a financial standpoint.—
Max Dible,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The release noted terrain in the area can be rugged and steep and cautioned visitors to stay a safe distance from the edge.—
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette,
Arkansas Online,
20 Oct. 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.—
Bay Area Weather Report,
Mercury News,
19 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Nonthreatening.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nonthreatening. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.
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