nonthreatening
adjective
non·threat·en·ing
| \ ˌnän-ˈthret-niŋ
, -ˈthre-tᵊn-iŋ\
, -ˈthre-tᵊn-iŋ\
Definition of nonthreatening
1
: not constituting a threat
a nonthreatening illness
2
: not likely to cause anxiety
a nonthreatening environment
also
: innocuous sense 2
Examples of nonthreatening in a Sentence
It's best to approach the dog in a calm, nonthreatening way.
Recent Examples on the Web
Associated sounds are typically gentle and nonthreatening. — Craig Richard, BostonGlobe.com, "The blissful and bizarre world of ASMR," 16 Aug. 2019 Correctly or not, voters believe this nonthreatening old white guy of moderate leanings is the one to beat President Trump. — Dana Milbank, The Mercury News, "Milbank: Biden was gloriously adequate in second Democratic debate," 1 Aug. 2019 Once a nonthreatening neighbor, the Nets have become the preferred New York destination. — Chris Mannix, SI.com, "Behind the Scenes of the Nets’ Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving Heist," 9 July 2019 The goal is to help students learn HERO concepts in a nonthreatening and age-appropriate manner. — Julia Sclafani, latimes.com, "Newport-Mesa school board approves pilot program to train young students for on-campus threats," 26 June 2019 Unlike the United States, which is blessed with two nonthreatening neighbors in Canada and Mexico, China has difficult relations with a number of strong, nationalistic neighbors, including India, Japan, South Korea, and Vietnam. — Kishore Mahbubani, Harper's magazine, "What China Threat?," 10 Feb. 2019 Politicians able to articulate a vision of this future that is inclusive, inspiring, and nonthreatening — the mixture Obama sought in 2008 — will reap massive rewards. — Ezra Klein, Vox, "White threat in a browning America," 30 July 2018 Europe may come apart at the seams because the cumulative effect of accepting nonthreatening refugees daily poses a major threat to Western cohesion, values, resources and fiscal health. — WSJ, "Consider the Assimilationablity of Refugees," 8 Nov. 2018 Worse, the latest research suggests that only 27% of American women know how to apply eyeliner in a cohesive, nonthreatening fashion. — Joe Queenan, WSJ, "Grungy and Unkempt in the U.S.A.," 12 July 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'nonthreatening.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for nonthreatening
nonthreatening
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of nonthreatening
: not likely to cause someone to be afraid or worried : not threatening
See the full definition for nonthreatening in the English Language Learners Dictionary