The shells fell for the most part innocuous; an eyewitness saw children at play beside the flaming houses; not a soul was injured.
Other things, too, there were, not less deadly though seemingly innocuous—dried fungi, traps intended for birds, beasts, fishes, reptiles, and insects.
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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 — 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 … Etymology 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
