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HOW TO PRONOUNCE

innocuous

/ˌɪˈnɑkjuəs/

Press play to hear how to pronounce innocuous.

American Pronunciation Guide · 0:31
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Stress “noc,” then listen for “yoo.”

After the strong second syllable, keep the y sound leading into oo, followed by a separate light uh before the final s.

4 syllables · Stress on syllable 2

TRY SAYING
The remark seemed innocuous at first.

APG practice sentence · CC BY-SA 4.0

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary

What does innocuous mean?

adjective

  1. Harmless; producing no ill effect.
  2. Inoffensive; unprovocative; unexceptionable.

Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0

IPA pronunciation

/ˌɪˈnɑkjuəs/

Pronunciation used in the listening tip.

CMU Pronouncing Dictionary

Other dictionary pronunciations

/ɪˈnɑkjuəs/
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0

Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.

In the pages of books

See this word in context.

The rapid evaporation quickly dispels the vapors and the dry heat desiccates the disease creating germs and makes them innocuous.
J. A. (Joseph Amasa) MunkArizona SketchesProject Gutenberg ebook #756
In this particular case, however mechanical and innocuous it might be at other times, Hepzibah’s contortion of brow served her in good stead.
Nathaniel HawthorneThe House of the Seven GablesProject Gutenberg ebook #77
More book examples (3)
In a similar way the breach of other tabus, such as the entering of a room which is LALI, may be rendered innocuous.
Charles Hose; William McDougallThe Pagan Tribes of Borneo A Description of Their Physical Moral and Intellectual Condition, with Some Discussion of Their Ethnic RelationsProject Gutenberg ebook #3307
He has discovered the art of making fire, by which hard and stringy roots can be rendered digestible, and poisonous roots or herbs innocuous.
Charles DarwinThe Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to SexProject Gutenberg ebook #2300
If the Hippocratic writers knew that this coiling is sometimes quite innocuous, they did not in any place state the fact.
George M. (George Milbrey) Gould; Walter L. (Walter Lytle) PyleAnomalies and Curiosities of MedicineProject Gutenberg ebook #747