innocuous

English

WOTD – 29 August 2007

Etymology

FromLatininnocuus(“harmless”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation)IPA^(key):/ɪˈnɒkjuəs/
• (US)IPA^(key):/ɪˈnɑkjuəs/

• Audio(US):

  (file)

• Hyphenation:in‧noc‧u‧ous

Adjective

innocuous(comparativemoreinnocuous,superlativemostinnocuous)

1. Harmless;producing noilleffect.

   Synonyms:innoxious,nonpoisonous,nontoxic,undamaging,unharmful,harmless

   Antonyms:nocuous,noxious,harmful,poisonous,toxic;see alsoThesaurus:harmful

   • 1838,Richard Chenevix Trench,“Sonnet I. To England. In the Tyrol.”, inSabbation; Honor Neale; and Other Poems,London:Edward Moxon,[…],→OCLC,page158:

     With its green cupola or tapering spire, / Which sunset touches withinnocuousfire, / The little church appears, to sanctify / The precincts duly where men live and die— [...]

   • 1892,Robert Louis Stevenson,chapter 9, inA Footnote to History:

     The shells fell for the most partinnocuous;an eyewitness saw children at play beside the flaming houses; not a soul was injured.

   • 1911,Bram Stoker,“Mesmer’s Chest”, inThe Lair of the White Worm,London:William Rider and Son,[…],→OCLC,page110:

     Other things, too, there were, not less deadly though seeminglyinnocuous—dried fungi, the touch of which was death and whose poison was carried on in the air; also traps intended for birds, beast, fishes, reptiles, and insects; machines which could produce pain of any kind and degree, and the only mercy of which was the power of producing speedy death.

   • 1997,David Foster Wallace,“E Unibus Pluram: Television and U.S. Fiction”, inA Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again: Essays and Arguments,Boston, Mass.:Little, Brown and Company,→ISBN:

     The effects of any one instance of TV absorbing and pablumizing cultural tokens seemsinnocuousenough.

   • 2011September 2, “Wales2 — 1Montenegro”,inBBC Sport‎^[1]:

     As the half closed[Gareth] Baleand[Joe] Ledleyboth went close with good efforts, but[Craig] Bellamypicked up a yellow card for aninnocuouschallenge that also rules the new Liverpool man out of the trip to Wembley.

2. Inoffensive;unprovocative;unexceptionable.

   Synonym:uncontroversial

   • 1893,Gilbert Parker,chapter 12, inMrs. Falchion:

     Ruth Devlin announced that the song must wait, though it appeared to beinnocuousand child-like in its sentiments.

   • 1910,P. G. Wodehouse,chapter 29, inThe Intrusion of Jimmy:

     He sat down, and lighted a cigarette, casting about the while for aninnocuoustopic of conversation.

Derived terms

• innocuity
• innocuously
• innocuousness

Related terms

• innocent

Translations

harmless—see alsoharmless

• Azerbaijani:məsum
• Bulgarian:безвреден(bg)(bezvreden)
• Catalan:innocu(ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin:Vô hại／Vô hại(zh)(wúhài de)

• Danish:harmløs(da)
• Dutch:onschadelijk(nl),onschuldig(nl)
• Faroese:óskaðiligur,meinaleysur
• Finnish:harmiton(fi),vaaraton(fi),viaton(fi)
• French:inoffensif(fr)
• German:harmlos(de)
• Greek:αβλαβής(el)(avlavís)
• Hebrew:לא מזיק(l'mzik)
• Hungarian:ártalmatlan(hu)
• Italian:innocuo(it)
• Japanese:Vô hại な(ja)(mugai na),Không độc な(ja)(mudoku na)
• Kazakh:залалсыз(zalalsyz),зарарсыз(zararsyz),зиянсыз(ziänsyz),қиянатсыз(qiänatsyz)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål:harmløs

• Ottoman Turkish:ضررسز(zararsız),زیانسز(ziyansız)
• Persian:بیضرر(bi-zarar)
• Polish:niegroźny(pl),bezpieczny(pl)
• Portuguese:inócuo(pt)m
• Romanian:inofensiv(ro),nevătămător
• Russian:безвре́дный(ru)(bezvrédnyj),безоби́дный(ru)(bezobídnyj)
• Spanish:inocuo(es)
• Swedish:ofarlig(sv),oskadlig(sv),oskyldig(sv)
• Turkish:zararsız(tr)
• Ukrainian:нешкідли́вий(neškidlývyj)

inoffensive—see alsoinoffensive

• Bulgarian:безобиден(bg)(bezobiden)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin:Không ảnh hưởng toàn cục／Không ảnh hưởng toàn cục(zh)(wúshāngdàyǎ de)

• Dutch:onschuldig(nl),onschadelijk(nl),braaf(nl)
• Finnish:harmiton(fi),viaton(fi)
• French:inoffensif(fr)m
• German:unverfänglich,konform(de),gewöhnlich(de)
• Greek:αβλαβής(el)(avlavís)
• Hungarian:ártalmatlan(hu)
• Italian:innocuo(it)
• Japanese:Vô khó な(ja)(bunan na),Đương たり chướng り の ない(atarisawari no nai)
• Spanish:inofensivo(es),inocente(es)
• Ukrainian:необра́зливий(neobrázlyvyj)