How to Use innocuous in a Sentence

innocuous

adjective
  • He told a few innocuous jokes.
  • What may seem innocuous at the time could lead to larger problems down the road.
    Marc Zalmanoff, Forbes, 29 June 2022
  • The episode opens with a scene that appears pretty innocuous.
    Scott D. Pierce, The Salt Lake Tribune, 31 Oct. 2021
  • But the defense has tried to show it all as innocuous, or even wholesome.
    Jason Meisner, chicagotribune.com, 17 Sep. 2021
  • Rich asked a rep to school the group on this seemingly innocuous baking spice.
    Mike Dang, Longreads, 1 Nov. 2017
  • Many of the counts appear, on the surface, to be somewhat innocuous.
    Christian Boone, ajc, 4 May 2021
  • The small trees, which look so innocuous, have in fact become a lifeline.
    Mary Holland, Robb Report, 22 Apr. 2023
  • The act of taking a prescription pill can seem innocuous.
    Zachary Siegel, The New Republic, 27 June 2023
  • The reasons for the differences were innocuous, as well.
    Rick Klein, ABC News, 4 Jan. 2022
  • Looks like an innocuous piece of lifestyle brand spon-con, right?
    Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 9 Nov. 2021
  • Most of the tips that come in to his department are found to be innocuous, Koren said.
    Madeline Holcombe, CNN, 18 Aug. 2019
  • Most of these were horoscope skills that seemed fairly innocuous.
    Courtney Linder, Popular Mechanics, 16 Nov. 2019
  • Red baseball hats were once an innocuous form of headwear.
    Mattie Kahn, ELLE, 13 June 2023
  • The innocuous comment is then followed by a remark of grave concern.
    Miriam Fauzia, USA TODAY, 4 Nov. 2020
  • Why was such an otherwise innocuous hit met with such glee?
    Rob Manker, Naperville Sun, 5 July 2018
  • The blood in the van could have come from an injury as innocuous as a bloody nose, O’Connor said.
    David Owens, courant.com, 24 Jan. 2018
  • Sorry to be the bearers of bad news, but not even summertime dips in the pool are innocuous anymore.
    Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 2 July 2019
  • Of course, they can be used in fairly standard, innocuous ways.
    Louise Matsakis, WIRED, 25 Apr. 2018
  • But one of the most important things he's received in support may seem innocuous to most.
    Gabrielle Bunton, The Courier-Journal, 9 June 2021
  • The view in my backyard has gone from innocuous to an embarrassment.
    New York Times, 19 May 2018
  • Outbursts were sparked over events as seemingly innocuous as not stopping at the store.
    Fox News, 8 Mar. 2018
  • The first sign of damage is quite innocuous and innocent and does not generate alarm.
    San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 July 2021
  • And all this around an innocuous pair of Tabi-toed Mary-Janes.
    Daniel Rodgers, Vogue, 6 Sep. 2023
  • Even the most innocuous new-mom queries can be met with condescension and outrage.
    Julie Jargon, WSJ, 10 Dec. 2022
  • At times, an action may seem innocuous, but its impact may be great.
    Rabbi Avi Weiss, Sun Sentinel, 12 Dec. 2022
  • For a while, the two liked one another’s photos and left innocuous comments.
    Jenny Block, New York Times, 21 Oct. 2022
  • The most innocuous of attire, the basic yoga pant, has once again come under fire.
    Colleen Kratofil, PEOPLE.com, 19 Feb. 2018
  • That seemingly innocuous inquiry was always met with a deep sigh from me.
    Bobby Laurie, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 Dec. 2021
  • Then there were some rote questions and answers about life in prison, innocuous talk about my sister’s two teenage sons.
    Christian Wiman, Harper’s Magazine , 14 Dec. 2022
  • Vivek said the email was so low-key and seemingly innocuous and easily could have been bypassed as junk mail.
    San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Aug. 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'innocuous.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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