harmless
/ˈhɑɹmləs/adjective
harmless is spelled H-A-R-M-L-E-S-S: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 6.2 times per million words in written English, the 9,735th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, harmless means “Incapable of causing harm or danger; safe” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in harmless?
| Letters | 8: H-A-R-M-L-E-S-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 6.2 times per million words; the 9,735th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is harmless?
Harmless appears 6.2 times per million words in written English, the 9,735th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce harmless?
- UK /ˈhɑːmləs/
- US /ˈhɑɹmləs/
Harmless has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-harmless.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of harmless
- more harmless comparative
- most harmless superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does harmless mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Incapable of causing harm or danger; safe.
Near-synonyms: benign, innocuous, innocent, undamaging, nonthreatening, unthreatening
- 2
Not intended to harm; inoffensive.
His humor can be annoying but is harmless.
- 3
obsoleteUnharmed.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Harmless in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense incapable of causing harm or danger:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | inoffensif |
| German | harmlos, unschädlich, ungefährlich |
| Portuguese | inofensivo |
| Spanish | inocuo, inofensivo, benigno |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does harmless come from?
From Middle English harmles, from Old English *hearmlēas, from Proto-Germanic *harmalausaz (“without harm; harmless”), equivalent to harm + -less.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).