harmless

adjectivecommon in dialogue

United Kingdom//ˈhɑːmləs//
United States//ˈhɑɹmləs//

Incapable of causing harm or danger; safe.

adjective

1
Incapable of causing harm or danger; safe.
Near-synonyms: benign, innocuous, innocent, undamaging, nonthreatening, unthreatening
This snake looks nearly the same as its poisonous cousin but is harmless.
2
Not intended to harm; inoffensive.
His humor can be annoying but is harmless.
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?
3
obsoleteUnharmed.

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”).

Forms

comparative: more harmless
superlative: most harmless

Harley · A village and civil parish (served by Cressage, Harley and…harm · Physical injury; hurt; damage.harmful · Causing or likely to cause harm or damage; injurious.

harmless · Incapable of causing harm or danger; safe.

Harmon · A surname.harmonica · A musical wind instrument with a series of holes for the…harmony · Agreement or accord.

The neighbouring pages — Alphabetical order follows the rules of the language, not byte values: an accent decides only between two otherwise identical words, and Spanish files Ñ as a letter of its own.