Word of the Day!

Tuesday, Mar. 12, 2024

Innocuous (adjective)
in·noc·u·ous [ih-nok-yoo-uhs]

adjective
1. not harmful or injurious; harmless: an innocuous home remedy.
2. not likely to irritate or offend; inoffensive; an innocuous remark.
3. not interesting, stimulating, or significant; pallid; insipid: an innocuous novel.

See synonyms for: innocuous / innocuously / innocuousness on Thesaurus.com

OTHER WORDS FROM INNOCUOUS
in·noc·u·ous·ly, adverb
in·noc·u·ous·ness, in·no·cu·i·ty [in-uh-kyoo-i-tee], noun
un·in·noc·u·ous, adjective
un·in·noc·u·ous·ly, adverb
un·in·noc·u·ous·ness, noun

WORDS RELATED TO INNOCUOUS
banal, bland, inoffensive, insipid, painless, flat, innocent, innoxious, jejune, kind, safe, sapless, unobjectionable, unoffending, weak

ORIGIN: From the Latin word innocuus, dating back to 1590–1600. See in-, nocuous

HOW TO USE INNOCUOUS IN A SENTENCE
Seemingly innocuous at the time, Abdullahi’s statement now feels ominous after details of the bill became public this week.
A NEW BILL FROM NIGERIA’S TECH REGULATOR IS ALARMING STARTUP FOUNDERS | ALEXANDER ONUKWUE | AUGUST 18, 2021 | QUARTZ

A tool designed for an innocuous purpose can be easily used for the same function but with a far different application in mind.
THIS DRONE CAN DETECT HUMAN SCREAMS. WHAT COULD GO WRONG? | ROB VERGER | JUNE 23, 2021 | POPULAR-SCIENCE

It’s the nature of my medium versus his that it sounds more innocuous.
TWO WEEKS LATER, TUCKER CARLSON’S ATTACK ON FAUCI HAS QUIETLY COLLAPSED | PHILIP BUMP | JUNE 16, 2021 | WASHINGTON POST

They regularly take down innocuous posts while giving hate speech and misinformation a pass.
INSIDE THE FIGHT TO RECLAIM AI FROM BIG TECH’S CONTROL | KAREN HAO | JUNE 14, 2021 | MIT TECHNOLOGY REVIEW

They cover city councils and schools under innocuous-sounding banners such as “Illinois Valley Times” and the “Lansing Sun.”
THE NEW JOURNALISM — AND THE PR FIRMS BEHIND IT | ELAHE IZADI | JUNE 4, 2021 | WASHINGTON POST