Word of the Day Archive
Saturday September 6, 2003

Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Previous Words | Subscribe for Free | Help

innocuous \ih-NOK-yoo-uhs\ , adjective:
1. Harmless; producing no ill effect.
2. Not likely to offend or provoke; as, "an innocuous remark."

Furthermore, the public, not knowing how to interpret certain facts and figures, may end up unfairly vilifying a company that uses only innocuous traces of a certain toxic chemical.
-- "Can Selfishness Save the Environment?", The Atlantic, September 13, 2000

Maybe Grandpop misunderstood that perfectly innocuous remark and thought the man said "smell." Anyway his temper crackled and exploded.
-- John McCabe, Cagney

Innocuous is from Latin innocuus, from in-, "not" + nocuus, "harmful," from nocere, "to harm." It is related to innocent, formed from in- + nocens, nocent-, "harming, injurious, hence criminal, guilty," from the present participle of nocere. Less common is the opposite of innocuous, nocuous.

Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation for innocuous

 

AddThis: