as in harmless
not causing or being capable of causing injury or hurt
those innocuous lies we must tell every day if society is to remain civil
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Recent Examples of innocuous
These seemingly innocuous actions can kindle dry grass, potentially triggering a wildfire.
—
Ca Weather Bot, Sacbee.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Grandparents should never encourage their grandchildren to keep secrets from their parents, no matter how innocuous the secret may seem, Wojcicki says.
—Tom Huddleston Jr., CNBC, 27 Aug. 2025
Many of their actions seem fairly innocuous.
—Sam Fleischacker, Chicago Tribune, 27 Aug. 2025
Active Clubs frame themselves as innocuous workout groups on digital platforms and decentralized networks to recruit, radicalize and prepare members for racist violence.
—Art Jipson, The Conversation, 26 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for innocuous
Ca Weather Bot, Sacbee.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Grandparents should never encourage their grandchildren to keep secrets from their parents, no matter how innocuous the secret may seem, Wojcicki says.
—Tom Huddleston Jr., CNBC, 27 Aug. 2025
Many of their actions seem fairly innocuous.
—Sam Fleischacker, Chicago Tribune, 27 Aug. 2025
Active Clubs frame themselves as innocuous workout groups on digital platforms and decentralized networks to recruit, radicalize and prepare members for racist violence.
—Art Jipson, The Conversation, 26 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for innocuous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for innocuous
Adjective
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While Penicillium species are mostly harmless and often useful – cheesemaking, penicillin – some Aspergillus strains are harmful to human health.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
20 Sep. 2025
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While some lapses are temporary and harmless, others may signal a deeper issue.—
Daryl Austin,
USA Today,
19 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Lee Archinal, also a senior threat hunt analyst at Intel 471, explained that EDR data with short retention makes benign but rare behaviors — like opening Word once a month — look like anomalies.—
Tony Bradley,
Forbes.com,
19 Sep. 2025
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These early shifts—less COVID vaccination; fewer options for flu, MMR, and chickenpox vaccines; and, perhaps soon, delays to the hepatitis-B schedule—may seem benign enough.—
Katherine J. Wu,
The Atlantic,
18 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Abby is portrayed as a naive and innocent receptionist, but is edgy.—
Lisa Stardust,
PEOPLE,
19 Sep. 2025
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However, last week, the Civilian Complaint Review Board voted to overrule the investigator who found Alongi and Cianfrocco innocent, finding the pair of officers in violation of using excessive force and abusing their authority.—
Mason Leath,
ABC News,
19 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Innocuous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/innocuous. Accessed 22 Sep. 2025.
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