Definition of INNOCUOUS (original) (raw)
2
: not likely to give offense or to arouse strong feelings or hostility : inoffensive, insipid
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Innocuous has harmful roots – it comes to us from the Latin adjective innocuus, which was formed by combining the negative prefix in- with a form of the verb nocēre, meaning "to harm" or "to hurt." In addition, nocēre is related to the truly "harmful" words noxious, nocent, and even nocuous. Innocent is from nocēre as well, although like innocuous it has the in- prefix negating the hurtful possibilities. Innocuous first appeared in print in the early 17th century with the clearly Latin-derived meaning "harmless or causing no injury" (as in "an innocuous gas"). The second sense is a metaphorical extension of the idea of injury, used to indicate that someone or something does not cause hurt feelings, or even strong feelings ("an innocuous book" or "innocuous issues," for example).
Synonyms
Examples of innocuous in a Sentence
Gossip is a relatively innocuous manifestation; fashioning one's self as eternally battling a white America mired in "racism" is a more noisome one. —
John McWhorter, Wall Street Journal, 17 Sept. 2003 Small and innocuous looking, the habanero is uncontested as the hottest pepper in the world, the mother of all peppers. —Jim Robbins, Smithsonian, January 1992 And there was LeRoy … a somewhat gruesome but innocuous neighborhood dimwit who gave me the creeps when he sat down on the front stoop to listen to a bunch of us talking after school. —Philip Roth, New York Times Book Review, 18 Oct. 1987 The salamander, an innocuous amphibian like a big newt, was also regarded with a mixture of horror and awe. —David Attenborough, The First Eden, 1987
He told a few innocuous jokes. those innocuous lies we must tell every day if society is to remain civil
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Of course, cognitive dissonance makes the world go ‘round, and preaching the virtues of responsible gambling while serving as a sort of virtual, non-thumb-breaking bookie is fairly innocuous compared to [gestures at everything]. —Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 31 Jan. 2025 But as the drug’s prevalence increases, so, too, does the perception that cannabis is innocuous, whether used recreationally or medically. —Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 28 Jan. 2025 While some news segments can be fairly innocuous, others can be upsetting—and those stories can switch from one to the next after only a commercial break. —Ella Cerón, Parents, 22 Jan. 2025 In and of itself, the use of that word is innocuous. —The Editors, National Review, 22 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for innocuous 
Word History
Etymology
Latin innocuus, from in- + nocēre — see innocent entry 1
First Known Use
1631, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of innocuous was in 1631
Dictionary Entries Near innocuous
Cite this Entry
“Innocuous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/innocuous. Accessed 12 Feb. 2025.
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Last Updated: 4 Feb 2025 - Updated example sentences
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