innocuous

innocuous
innocuous 1590s, from L. innocuus "harmless," from in- "not" (see IN- (Cf. in-) (1)) + nocuus "hurtful," from root of nocere "to injure, harm," from *nok-s-, suffixed form of PIE root *nek- "death" (see NECRO- (Cf. necro-)). Related: Innocuously; innocuousness.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • innocuous — [i näk′yo͞o əs] adj. [L innocuus < in , not + nocuus, harmful < nocere, to harm, injure: see NECRO ] 1. that does not injure or harm; harmless [an innocuous insect] 2. not controversial, offensive, or stimulating; dull and uninspiring [an… …   English World dictionary

  • Innocuous — In*noc u*ous, a. [L. innocuus; in not + nocuus hurtful, fr. nocere to hurt. See {Innocent}.] Harmless; producing no ill effect. [1913 Webster] A patient, innocuous, innocent man. Burton. {In*noc u*ous*ly}, adv. {In*noc u*ous*ness}, n. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • innocuous — I adjective harmless, hurtless, innocent, innocuus, innoxious, inoffensive, mild, nonirritating, nonmalignant, nontoxic, painless, safe, simple, uninjurious, unlikely to cause harm, unlikely to cause injury, unobjectionable, unobnoxious,… …   Law dictionary

  • innocuous — *harmless, innocent, inoffensive, unoffending Antonyms: pernicious Contrasted words: *poisonous, venomous, virulent, toxic: injurious, harmful, hurtful (see corresponding nouns at INJURY) …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • innocuous — [adj] harmless banal, bland, flat, innocent, innoxious, inobnoxious, inoffensive, insipid, jejune, kind, painless, safe, sapless, unobjectionable, unoffending, weak; concepts 401,572 Ant. bad, damaging, destructive, harmful, hurtful, injurious …   New thesaurus

  • innocuous — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ not harmful or offensive. DERIVATIVES innocuously adverb innocuousness noun. ORIGIN Latin innocuus, from in not + nocere to hurt …   English terms dictionary

  • innocuous — adj. VERBS ▪ appear, be, look, seem ADVERB ▪ perfectly, totally ▪ His comment seemed perfectly innocuous …   Collocations dictionary

  • innocuous — innocuously, adv. innocuousness, innocuity /in euh kyooh i tee/, n. /i nok yooh euhs/, adj. 1. not harmful or injurious; harmless: an innocuous home remedy. 2. not likely to irritate or offend; inoffensive; an innocuous remark. 3. not interesting …   Universalium

  • innocuous — [[t]ɪnɒ̱kjuəs[/t]] ADJ GRADED Something that is innocuous is not at all harmful or offensive. [FORMAL] Both mushrooms look innocuous but are in fact deadly... Even seemingly innocuous words are offensive in certain contexts. Syn: inoffensive …   English dictionary

  • innocuous — adjective /ɪˈnɒkjuəs,ɪˈnɑːkjuəs/ a) Harmless; producing no ill effect. The shells fell for the most part innocuous; an eyewitness saw children at play beside the flaming houses; not a soul was injured. b) Inoffensive; unprovocative; not… …   Wiktionary

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