What does innocuous mean?
Word: Innocuous
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Innocuous means harmless and not likely to upset or hurt anyone.
Synonyms: harmless, safe
Antonyms: harmful
Word origin: Comes from Latin, built on the verb nocere.
How do you spell innocuous?
Syllables: in - noc - u - ous
Tricky part: Only the n is doubled and the c stays single. Pupils often swap the two, or lose an n altogether.
Watch out for: inocuous, inoccuous
Memory tip: Two neighbours and one cat make a harmless scene: that gives you two n letters, then just one c.
Innocuous in a sentence
Example 1: It began as an innocuous joke and ended with everybody laughing.
Example 2: The app looks innocuous, but check what it asks for before you tap Allow.
Example 3: Grandmother's innocuous question about my marks made me blush.
Fun Fact
Innocuous and innocent are cousins: both carry the same old Latin idea of doing no harm.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell Spies
Choose the incorrectly spelt word:
a) conspicuous
b) ambiguous
c) innocous
d) strenuous
Show answer
c) innocous. All four share one ending, and the wrong one has lost a vowel from it.
Jumble Tumble
Choose the correct sequence of the jumbled letters to form a meaningful word:
123456789 oucinsnuo
a) 457832916
b) 437152986
c) 957132486
d) 457132986
Show answer
d) 457132986. Only that order rebuilds the harmless word; the others put two letters in the wrong places.
Word Puzzle
Match each word with a word of similar meaning:
1. innocuous 2. copious 3. tenuous a. abundant b. flimsy c. inoffensive
a) 1-b, 2-a, 3-c
b) 1-c, 2-b, 3-a
c) 1-a, 2-c, 3-b
d) 1-c, 2-a, 3-b
Show answer
d) 1-c, 2-a, 3-b. Copious notes are abundant, a tenuous link is flimsy, and a mild remark that troubles nobody is inoffensive.
Word Champ
In which option are the given words arranged in alphabetical order?
1. innocent 2. innovate 3. innocence 4. innocuous
a) 1342
b) 1324
c) 3142
d) 3124
Show answer
c) 3142. After inno, c comes before v and e before u, and innocence goes ahead of innocent because c comes before t.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which of these is an innocuous question to ask a new classmate?
a) Who in this class do you dislike?
b) May I read your private diary?
c) How much do your parents earn?
d) Which book did you read last?
Show answer
d) Which book did you read last?
2. 'The spots on the leaves looked innocuous, so the gardener left them alone.' What did she think?
a) They would not trouble the plant.
b) They needed spraying at once.
c) They would spread across the bed.
d) They would ruin the whole plant.
Show answer
a) They would not trouble the plant.
