harmless
UK /ˈhɑːmləs/ · US /ˈhɑɹmləs/ adjective
- adjective Incapable of causing harm or danger; safe. “This snake looks nearly the same as its poisonous cousin but is harmless.”
- adjective Not intended to harm; inoffensive. “His humor can be annoying but is harmless.”
- adjective (obsolete) Unharmed.
Synonyms
unharmful nonharmful benign innocuous innocent undamaging nonthreatening unthreatening unscathed
Antonyms
Etymology
From Middle English harmles, from Old English *hearmlēas, from Proto-Germanic *harmalausaz (“without harm; harmless”), equivalent to harm + -less.
Cognate with German harmlos (“harmless”), Danish harmløs (“harlmess”), Swedish harmlös (“harmless”).
Webster’s 1913
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “harmless”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details