adjective
-
(esp of smells) offensive
-
harmful or noxious
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of noisome
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English noy (aphetic variant of annoy ) + -some 1
Explanation
If you accidentally leave half a sandwich under your bed for a few days, cover your nose while you sleep because it will probably become quite noisome. This is a fancy way of saying that it will stink. Despite that first syllable, this adjective doesn’t have root origins in the word noise; instead, it is related to the word annoy. Noisome can refer to anything unpleasant or anything that makes you feel a bit nauseous. However, it is most often used to describe things that smell badly. So spray some air freshener, open the windows, and clean out under your bed!
Vocabulary lists containing noisome
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
This only resurrected the noisome history of Epstein and the Media Lab, which MIT surely hoped would be dead and buried after it issued an independent report on the matter in January 2020.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 16, 2024
History is, for better and worse, an argument, a controversy, a noisy and even noisome wrangle over meanings and values.
From Slate • Oct. 21, 2020
“Musicians, if they choose to, can drive a tonal wedge through the noisome pestilence; the stench that often accompanies our contemporary societal lifestyles,” he said.
From New York Times • Feb. 19, 2017
The problems of chamber pots — also known as “jerries, night soil, commodes, slop jars, close stools and thunder mugs” — also contributed to this noisome mix.
From Washington Post • Nov. 4, 2016
For cold they seemed to Sam after the noisome darkness behind; but the breath of them revived him.
From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
