Dictionary

harmless en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /ˈhɑɹmləs/ (General-American)
• /ˈhɑːmləs/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• (US) audio

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”).

Meanings

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? 1921, Ben Travers, chapter 5, in A Cuckoo in the Nest, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1925, →OCLC:
3. (obsolete) Unharmed.

Forms

Antonyms

threatening · damaging · deleterious · harmful

Deriveds

hold harmless · save harmless · harmlessly · harmlessness

Synonyms

nonharmful · unscathed · undamaging · innocent · innocuous · benign · unharmful · nonthreatening · unthreatening

Translations (49)

de ungefährlich (incapable of causing harm or danger) · tr zararsız (incapable of causing harm or danger) · mi māhaki (incapable of causing harm or danger) · is meinlaus (incapable of causing harm or danger) · ru безоби́дный (incapable of causing harm or danger) · cs neškodný (incapable of causing harm or danger) · fi harmiton (incapable of causing harm or danger) · nl ongevaarlijk (incapable of causing harm or danger) · vi vô hại (incapable of causing harm or danger) · hu ártalmatlan (incapable of causing harm or danger) · nb harmløs (incapable of causing harm or danger) · pt inofensivo (incapable of causing harm or danger) · es inofensivo (incapable of causing harm or danger) · kk зарарсыз (incapable of causing harm or danger) · cy diniwed (incapable of causing harm or danger) · nrf innoffensif (incapable of causing harm or danger) · bg безвре́ден (incapable of causing harm or danger) · tk zyýansyz (incapable of causing harm or danger) · fr inoffensif (incapable of causing harm or danger) · de unschädlich (incapable of causing harm or danger) · ca inofensiu (incapable of causing harm or danger) · sv harmlös (incapable of causing harm or danger) · gv meenieuagh (incapable of causing harm or danger) · gv oney (incapable of causing harm or danger) · cmn 無害 /无害 (incapable of causing harm or danger) · ota زیانسز (incapable of causing harm or danger) · be бясшко́дны (incapable of causing harm or danger) · es inocuo (incapable of causing harm or danger) · az zərərsiz (incapable of causing harm or danger) · ko 무해의 (incapable of causing harm or danger) · grc ἀβλαβής (incapable of causing harm or danger) · es benigno (incapable of causing harm or danger) · bg безоби́ден (incapable of causing harm or danger) · uk нешкідли́вий (incapable of causing harm or danger) · pl nieszkodliwy (incapable of causing harm or danger) · ga neamhurchóideach (incapable of causing harm or danger) · nl onschadelijk (incapable of causing harm or danger) · de harmlos (incapable of causing harm or danger) · ro inofensiv (incapable of causing harm or danger) · ro nevătămător (incapable of causing harm or danger) · la innocuus (incapable of causing harm or danger) · sv ofarlig (incapable of causing harm or danger) · ga neamhdhíobhálach (incapable of causing harm or danger) · ja 無害な (incapable of causing harm or danger) · ru безвре́дный (incapable of causing harm or danger) · sk neškodný (incapable of causing harm or danger) · be няшко́дны (incapable of causing harm or danger) · ota ضررسز (incapable of causing harm or danger) · eo sendanĝera (incapable of causing harm or danger)