as in benign
not causing or being capable of causing injury or hurt
a perfectly harmless little spider
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of harmless
At any other time, Rasputin’s mesmeric power might have been harmless, yet another example of a country’s thirst for the occult.
—
Gerard Degroot, Air Mail, 25 Apr. 2026
To an uncritical eye, the messages might have seemed like a harmless attempt at motivating a team.
—Hettie O'Brien, The Dial, 21 Apr. 2026
Each piece looks harmless on its own.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 21 Apr. 2026
For such people, a seemingly harmless bite of bread, pasta, or even a sauce thickened behind the scenes can trigger bloating, fatigue or lingering digestive distress.
—Daryl Austin, USA Today, 19 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for harmless
Gerard Degroot, Air Mail, 25 Apr. 2026
To an uncritical eye, the messages might have seemed like a harmless attempt at motivating a team.
—Hettie O'Brien, The Dial, 21 Apr. 2026
Each piece looks harmless on its own.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 21 Apr. 2026
For such people, a seemingly harmless bite of bread, pasta, or even a sauce thickened behind the scenes can trigger bloating, fatigue or lingering digestive distress.
—Daryl Austin, USA Today, 19 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for harmless
Recent Examples of Synonyms for harmless
Adjective
-
Some winds are considered benign; others harmful.—
Adam Pourahmadi,
CNN Money,
22 Apr. 2026
-
As propaganda goes, the patriotic programming was benign.—
Zach Helfand,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Musk cofounded OpenAI as a nonprofit dedicated to creating safe AI, but Altman later launched a for-profit subsidiary and is now gearing up for an IPO.—
Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson,
semafor.com,
30 Apr. 2026
-
Albanese noted that despite concluding that risks to Australian Jews were rising, the report found that no urgent changes were required to keep Australians safe.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
30 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Abe told a judge at an April 27 proceeding that Allen has no prior arrests or convictions and is presumed innocent under the law.—
Aysha Bagchi,
USA Today,
30 Apr. 2026
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Same goes for the three separate books that were pitched to me at the same time by the same publisher, all themed around why OJ Simpson is innocent.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
30 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
As is his custom, House posed a follow-up question that sounded innocuous.—
Kevin Rennie,
Hartford Courant,
25 Apr. 2026
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Nike recently put up a sign ahead of the Boston Marathon on Newberry Street that may have seemed innocuous to anyone with a brain.—
Austin Perry OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
20 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
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
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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
Adjective
-
Collins, Higgins and a healthy Tank Dell could be a lot of fun together.—
Sam Warren,
New York Times,
25 Apr. 2026
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Planting a tree is an investment in a future with more beauty and shade, less air pollution and flooding, and many other good things that a healthy canopy of trees brings to us and our communities.—
Beth Botts,
Chicago Tribune,
25 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Harmless.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/harmless. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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