harmless
English
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”).
Pronunciation
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈhɑɹmləs/
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈhɑːmləs/
Audio (US) (file)
Adjective
harmless (comparative more harmless, superlative most harmless)
- Incapable of causing harm or danger; safe.
- Not intended to harm; inoffensive.
- 1922, Ben Travers, chapter 5, in A Cuckoo in the Nest:
- 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 personal appearance so raised your contemptuous wrath on your arrival?
-
- (obsolete) Unharmed.
Synonyms
- benign
- innocent
- innocuous
- undamaging
Antonyms
- harmful
Derived terms
- harmlessly
- harmlessness
Translations
incapable of causing harm or danger
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