Innocuous: meaning, example and synonyms
Innocuousadj. Not harmful or offensive; unlikely to provoke.
Example
What seemed an innocuous change to the software's settings later caused thousands of users to lose access to their archived files.
- Part of speech
- adjective
- Synonyms
- harmless, inoffensive, benign, safe
- Antonyms
- harmful, offensive, noxious, dangerous
- Memory tip
- in- ("not") + nocere ("to harm"), like innocent: it does no harm.
Innocuous is in batch 5. Study it with the rest of the batch, then pass the batch quiz to learn it. No account needed; progress is saved on this device.
Check yourself: Innocuous in context
The question seemed ______ enough, but the senator's long pause before answering suggested that it had touched a sensitive subject.
Answer: innocuous. The contrast with a sensitive subject means the question seemed harmless: innocuous. Superfluous, exemplary and convoluted don't set up that contrast.
Although most garden spiders are ______ to humans, a few species carry venom strong enough to require medical treatment.
Answer: innocuous. Most spiders are harmless, unlike the venomous few: innocuous. Earnest, material and superfluous don't contrast with dangerous venom.