obnoxious

[ uhb-nok-shuhs ]

adjective

1. highly objectionable or offensive; odious:

   obnoxious behavior.

   Antonyms: delightful

2. annoying or objectionable due to being a show-off or attracting undue attention to oneself:

   an obnoxious little brat.

3. Archaic. exposed or liable to harm, evil, or anything objectionable.
4. Obsolete. liable to punishment or censure; reprehensible.

obnoxious

/ əbˈnɒkʃəs /

adjective

1. extremely unpleasant
2. obsolete.
   exposed to harm, injury, etc

Derived Forms

• obˈnoxiously, adverb
• obˈnoxiousness, noun

Other Words From

• ob·noxious·ly adverb
• ob·noxious·ness noun
• unob·noxi·ous adjective
• unob·noxi·ous·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of obnoxious¹

First recorded in 1575–85; from Latin obnoxiōsus “harmful,” equivalent to ob- “to, toward, against,” + noxiōsus “harmful”; ob-, noxious

Word History and Origins

Origin of obnoxious¹

C16: from Latin obnoxius, from ob- to + noxa injury, from nocēre to harm

Synonym Study

See hateful.

Example Sentences

Most days as a tracker are far from glamorous — you wait for hours at a right-wing barbeque only to record the same stump speech for the hundredth time, you’re followed to your car by a Republican threatening to pour hot coffee on you, or you’re recognized and dragged away by security that’s more than happy to manhandle an obnoxious 20 something.

From Salon

Eagle added that as somewhat of a moderate who didn’t vote for Trump or Hillary Clinton in 2016 but went with Trump four years later, “I find his personal qualities to be obnoxious.”

From Los Angeles Times

In a series of tweets Wednesday, the “Jack Ryan” and “The Wire” actor condemned the unruly behavior and “obnoxious fans” that spoiled his night at Yankee Stadium, where the Los Angeles Dodgers clinched a late-inning victory against the Bronx Bombers.

From Los Angeles Times

“Unruly, obnoxious people can ruin everything. The worst experience ever,” the 60-year-old New Orleans native tweeted.

From Los Angeles Times

The game, Pierce said, “will mean nothing to me because all I remember will be the obnoxious fans I had to avoid.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• abhorrent
• annoying
• disgusting
• hateful
• loathsome
• nasty
• objectionable
• reprehensible
• rotten
• unpleasant