harmless

The word “harmless” means not capable of causing injury or harm; safe. In plain terms, something that won't hurt you or cause damage.

“Harmless” is pronounced HAHM-luhs (/ˈhɑɹmləs/ in IPA).

Here is “harmless” used in a sentence: “The spider looks scary but it's completely harmless.”

“Harmless” is an adjective.

The word “harmless” comes from Old English. From Old English hearmlēas, built from harm plus the suffix -less ("without"). The German cousin harmlos means the same thing.

“Harmless” is an uncommon word in modern English, usually learned at around the B2 level.

“Harmless” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: not capable of causing injury or harm; safe.

Harmless specifically means not capable of causing injury or harm, focusing on the absence of danger from a particular thing, while safe is broader and can describe an overall state of security or protection from risk generally. Something can be described as harmless in one specific respect while other safety concerns still apply.

Harmless describes something not capable of causing injury, or a remark not meant to hurt or offend, while innocent describes a lack of guilt or wrongdoing. A harmless joke isn't meant to offend, but calling it innocent would instead focus on the intent behind it being free of malice.

When applied to comments or jokes, harmless means the remark was not meant to hurt or offend anyone, even if it could be misread. People often say "it was meant to be harmless" to clarify that no offense was intended.