as in healthy
not likely to cause someone to be afraid or worried; not threatening
It's best to approach the dog in a calm, nonthreatening way.
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Recent Examples of nonthreatening
These feel natural and nonthreatening but still move the conversation forward.
—
Dr. Diane Hamilton, Forbes.com, 21 May 2025
Pittsburgh Penguins The Athletic rating: 3.5 (6th) Fan rating: 3.7 (7th)
McIndoe: Penguins are adorable, nonthreatening and almost completely harmless.
—James Mirtle, New York Times, 20 May 2025
That last one may simply be unique to Logan Lerman, the latest nonthreatening boy to take center stage in HAIM’s new album rollout.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 25 Apr. 2025
Her previous recipes have included homemade marmalade, ratatouille, pasta from scratch, and tzatziki dip, which all sound lovely and nonthreatening.
—Li Goldstein, Bon Appétit, 31 Mar. 2023
See All Example Sentences for nonthreatening
Dr. Diane Hamilton, Forbes.com, 21 May 2025
Pittsburgh Penguins The Athletic rating: 3.5 (6th) Fan rating: 3.7 (7th)
McIndoe: Penguins are adorable, nonthreatening and almost completely harmless.
—James Mirtle, New York Times, 20 May 2025
That last one may simply be unique to Logan Lerman, the latest nonthreatening boy to take center stage in HAIM’s new album rollout.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 25 Apr. 2025
Her previous recipes have included homemade marmalade, ratatouille, pasta from scratch, and tzatziki dip, which all sound lovely and nonthreatening.
—Li Goldstein, Bon Appétit, 31 Mar. 2023
See All Example Sentences for nonthreatening
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nonthreatening
Adjective
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Collins, Higgins and a healthy Tank Dell could be a lot of fun together.—
Sam Warren,
New York Times,
25 Apr. 2026
-
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
Adjective
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Some of these interventions are harmless and many can be quite helpful.—
Hannah Kerman,
STAT,
29 Apr. 2026
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The new biopic of Jackson from director Antoine Fuqua and the Jackson estate paints the gloved one as the one true victim — a harmless Peter Pan figure whose own childhood was snatched away by a domineering father.—
Marlow Stern,
Variety,
28 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Some winds are considered benign; others harmful.—
Adam Pourahmadi,
CNN Money,
22 Apr. 2026
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As propaganda goes, the patriotic programming was benign.—
Zach Helfand,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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While a standard Whiskey Sour is a delightful experience, almost invariably mixed with bourbon and made smooth and unobjectionable with egg white, the Rattlesnake is that same framework but greener.—
Jeremy Repanich,
Robb Report,
10 Jan. 2026
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After all, humans often intervene in the natural order in morally unobjectionable ways.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
13 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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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
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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
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Now they are also being asked to absorb an energy transition that policymakers promised would be painless.—
Nicole Malliotakis,
New York Daily News,
19 Apr. 2026
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In the past, hailstorms were seen as temporary, relatively painless weather events.—
Ethan Stone,
USA Today,
14 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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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
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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
Cite this Entry
“Nonthreatening.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nonthreatening. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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