Adjacent Words

Innocuous definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

INNOC'UOUS, a. [L. innocuus; in and noceo, to hurt.]
Harmless; safe; producing no ill effect; innocent. Certain poisons used as medicines in small quantities, prove not only innocuous, but beneficial. It applied only to things; not to persons.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: not injurious to physical or mental health [ant: noxious]
2: not causing disapproval; "it was an innocuous remark"; "confined himself to innocuous generalities"; "unobjectionable behavior" [syn: innocuous, unobjectionable]
3: lacking intent or capacity to injure; "an innocent prank" [syn: innocent, innocuous]

Merriam Webster's

adjective Etymology: Latin innocuus, from in- + noc?re Date: 1598 1. producing no injury ; harmless 2. not likely to give offense or to arouse strong feelings or hostility ; inoffensive, insipid • innocuously adverb • innocuousness noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. 1 not injurious; harmless. 2 inoffensive. Derivatives: innocuity n. innocuously adv. innocuousness n. Etymology: L innocuus (as IN-(1), nocuus formed as INNOCENT)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Innocuous In*noc"u*ous, a. [L. innocuus; in- not + nocuus hurtful, fr. nocere to hurt. See Innocent.] Harmless; producing no ill effect; innocent. A patient, innocuous, innocent man. --Burton. -- In*noc"u*ous*ly, adv. -- In*noc"u*ous*ness, n. Where the salt sea innocuously breaks. --Wordsworth.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Something that is innocuous is not at all harmful or offensive. (FORMAL) Both mushrooms look innocuous but are in fact deadly... = harmless ADJ

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. Harmless, inoffensive, innoxious, innocent.

Moby Thesaurus

benign, harmless, homely, humble, humble-looking, humble-visaged, humblest, inglorious, innocent, inoffensive, least, low, lowest, lowliest, lowly, mean, modest, nonmalignant, nonpoisonous, nontoxic, nonvirulent, plain, poor, sapless, simple, small, teachable, undamaging, undistinguished, unhurtful, unimportant, uninjurious, unobnoxious, unoffending, unpretentious