nocuous
harmful
Roots
- -ous / -ious: full of or marked by a quality
- noc / nox: harm
Other words with the noc / nox root
Nocuous is the bare harm word. Innocuous is easier because in- removes the harm.
The chemical looked harmless but proved nocuous in high doses.
Nocuous is rare, but it explains innocuous beautifully. Innocuous does not mean boring; it means no harm in it. Once you see noc as harm, innocent and innocuous become safer to remember.