as in harmless
not causing or being capable of causing injury or hurt
an inoffensive little joke at the opening of his speech
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Recent Examples of inoffensive
An inoffensive, technically impressive spectacle that's kinda a snooze fest.
—
Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 15 May 2026
Saturday Night Live host Matt Damon was cast as the adoring husband in Mom, an entirely inoffensive movie where nothing bad happens—something that mothers everywhere will enjoy.
—William Vaillancourt, Rolling Stone, 10 May 2026
Matter of fact, none of his trademark charisma or humor can be found on the entire album, which seems like a complete misunderstanding of the genre as self-serious and inoffensive.
—Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 17 Mar. 2026
DeBrusk is the definition of a top-six guy and his top comps — Reilly Smith, Tyler Toffoli, Jason Zucker — speak to his inoffensive archetype.
—Dom Luszczyszyn, New York Times, 3 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for inoffensive
Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 15 May 2026
Saturday Night Live host Matt Damon was cast as the adoring husband in Mom, an entirely inoffensive movie where nothing bad happens—something that mothers everywhere will enjoy.
—William Vaillancourt, Rolling Stone, 10 May 2026
Matter of fact, none of his trademark charisma or humor can be found on the entire album, which seems like a complete misunderstanding of the genre as self-serious and inoffensive.
—Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 17 Mar. 2026
DeBrusk is the definition of a top-six guy and his top comps — Reilly Smith, Tyler Toffoli, Jason Zucker — speak to his inoffensive archetype.
—Dom Luszczyszyn, New York Times, 3 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for inoffensive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for inoffensive
Adjective
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McCarty adds that while many sleepmaxxing practices are relatively harmless, mouth taping may be the exception.—
Sharon Brandwein,
USA Today,
2 June 2026
-
The bill seeks to hold prospective payees financially harmless by excluding any payouts from their gross income.—
Marie Sapirie,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2026
Adjective
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Last year, the president was diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, a benign condition that causes swelling in his lower legs and one that the White House doctor noted is common in people over 70.—
Zac Anderson,
USA Today,
7 June 2026
-
Stone did not ultimately undergo a double mastectomy, as the tumors were benign.—
Wesley Stenzel,
Entertainment Weekly,
3 June 2026
Adjective
-
Complimentary reef-safe sunscreen dispensers are available to guests property-wide and beach clean-ups are held regularly with guests invited to join.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
4 June 2026
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Another 10 people were detained on May 24 while trying to negotiate safe passage for their convoy at a checkpoint near Sitre, Libya, along the Mediterranean coast less than halfway between Tunisia and Egypt.—
Wafaa Shurafa,
Los Angeles Times,
4 June 2026
Adjective
-
The allegations are that the defendant was impaired, failed to properly secure two young children, and then caused a crash that left one child dead, another seriously injured, and an innocent driver badly hurt.—
Gino Vicci,
CBS News,
4 June 2026
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Concurrently, the Met botch their way through their investigation, diverting all their attention to an entirely innocent man while ignoring the serial offender under their nose.—
Jon O'Brien,
IndieWire,
3 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Inoffensive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/inoffensive. Accessed 8 Jun. 2026.
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