Word family noun harm harmlessness adjective unharmed harmful ≠ harmless verb harm adverb harmlessly
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishharmlessharm‧less /ˈhɑːmləs $ ˈhɑːrm-/ ●○○ adjective 1 HARM/BE BAD FORunable or unlikely to hurt anyone or cause damage Her brother’s a bit simple, but he’s quite harmless.2 OFFENDnot likely to upset or offend anyone It was just a bit of harmless fun. —harmlessly adverb The spear whistled harmlessly over his head. —harmlessness noun [uncountable]Examples from the Corpus
harmless• But some diseases remain fatal, while others quickly become almost harmless.• There are over 80 strains, the vast majority symptomless and harmless.• Our dog makes a lot of noise, but he's perfectly harmless.• Radioactive waste needs to be stored for 25,000 years before it is harmless.• We need to persuade parents that almost all vaccines are harmless.• At the other end of the scale a short list of names and addresses is not necessarily harmless.• Then the engine note was suddenly fading, turning light and harmless, and Dickinson felt the controls start to answer.• I don't know why you're so upset -- it was only a harmless bit of fun.• He's a little crazy, I know, but he's harmless enough.• harmless fun• Male mosquitoes are completely harmless - it's only the females that bite.• The harmless noises of the countryside surrounded him.• Judged harmless, Paul was released on his own cognizance.• Those genes would produce a harmless protein that, once inside the body, would sound the false alarm of infection.• Essential oils are harmless to skin, provided they are used correctly.• He wanted people to applaud because harmless women had been killed.harmless fun• He'd never done it before but thought it sounded like harmless fun.• Obviously, he still thought he was just having a little harmless fun.• On stage at least - far away from allegations of steroid abuse - it is good harmless fun.• A 0 signifies harmless fun; a 5 means gore, smut, rough language or adult themes lurk ahead.• It will provide harmless fun for millions and give valuable funding to the Arts and sports.• He did not think people wanted harmless fun on Sunday. 