Harmless
What it means
Unable or unlikely to cause injury, damage, or serious distress.
Reach for it when reassuring someone that a thing or action presents no meaningful danger
The unfamiliar beetle is harmless to people and garden plants.
Words to choose between 6
| everyday |
|
|---|---|
| warm | |
| professional | |
| formal |
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everyday
Fits when ordinary use presents an acceptably low risk
Careful Safe is a stronger practical assurance and should not be claimed without enough evidence.
-
warm
Fits when soft action and low intensity make harm unlikely
Careful A gentle-looking substance can still be unsafe or allergenic.
-
professional
Fits when a medical finding or condition is not dangerous
Careful Benign sounds clinical and can still describe something uncomfortable or disruptive.
-
professional
Fits when an effect is limited in strength or severity
Careful Mild means less harmful, not necessarily free of harm.
-
formal
Fits when something that appears questionable has no damaging effect
Careful The formal tone is excessive for simple reassurance to a child.
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formal
Fits when the concern is social upset or objection rather than physical injury
Careful Inoffensive does not establish that an object is physically harmless.
Opposites 3
- harmful
- dangerous
- destructive
Common phrases 3
-
harmless joke
The harmless joke eased the tension without targeting anyone.
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completely harmless
The museum confirmed that the odor was completely harmless.
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harmless to humans
This native spider is harmless to humans and useful in gardens.
Word family 1
Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: Dvortygirl, American accent, from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 Updated