harmless

Incapable of causing harm or danger; safe.

Adjective

  1. Incapable of causing harm or danger; safe.
    • Near-synonyms: benign, innocuous, innocent, undamaging, nonthreatening, unthreatening
    • This snake looks nearly the same as its poisonous cousin but is harmless.

    Synonyms: unharmful nonharmful benign innocuous innocent undamaging nonthreatening unthreatening

    Antonyms: harmful deleterious damaging threatening

  2. Not intended to harm; inoffensive.
    • His humor can be annoying but is harmless.
    • The most rapid and most seductive transition in all human nature is that which attends the palliation of a ravenous appetite.[…]Can those harmless but refined fellow-diners be the selfish cads whose gluttony and...
  3. Unharmed.

    Synonyms: unscathed

Origin

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”).

Forms

more harmless most harmless

Derived

harmlessly harmlessness hold harmless save harmless