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

• obˈnoxiousness, noun
• obˈnoxiously, adverb

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

That made it hard to ignore obnoxious contacts or ones you’d prefer to forget.

From Popular-Science

In 2010’s start-up culture, “innovation and disruption were ascendant and critical questions were often dismissed as obnoxious cynicism.”

From Washington Post

I’d ask NBA superfan and die-hard Knicks loyalist Spike Lee to take the helm and would include a cameo of Drake, the league’s most obnoxious celebrity fan, on the sidelines.

From Time

To say it now, into the noise of an obnoxious, male-centric sports audience, would be too damn polite.

From Washington Post

Some of us stayed up all night long leaving messages for every representative in the House, not wanting to be obnoxious in any way but trying to make sure they had all the information to be able to vote appropriately.

From ProPublica

These “free” games display ads, often in obnoxious places, in lieu of the entry fee.

From The Daily Beast

Peaceful protest is welcome in America today—seeking to disrupt Americans looking to enjoy an NFL game is obnoxious.

From The Daily Beast

The obnoxious meddling journalist is a stock character in fiction.

From The Daily Beast

You must be one of the most obnoxious creatures, male or female, roaming the planet.

From The Daily Beast

Certain sentences and paragraphs capture a self-awareness that is more insightful than obnoxious or narcissistic.

From The Daily Beast

Five coaches, each containing six of the obnoxious prisoners, started to convey them to the prison of the Abbayé.

From Project Gutenberg

Mr. Osborne's pronounced Northern principles had made him very obnoxious to those who sympathized with the South.

From Project Gutenberg

Stephen, as the head of the Christian community, was especially obnoxious to heathen rage.

From Project Gutenberg

We then made ourselves horribly obnoxious with our machine guns, and opened by arrangement.

From Project Gutenberg

He stormed and wheedled, threatened and bribed; the obnoxious instrument was constantly brandished before his eyes.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

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