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

Other Word Forms

• obnoxiously adverb
• obnoxiousness noun
• unobnoxious adjective
• unobnoxiously 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

You probably don’t need me to supply the obnoxious punchline to that joke.

From Salon

In January 2022 he was put on notice for a host of causes: combative emails, obnoxious behavior, failures of organization.

From Los Angeles Times

"It's just so, so obnoxious," says Connor James, who lives in east London and listens to music on public transport - but always has headphones in.

From BBC

“Short replies that are insufficient, more obnoxious ai stylized talking, less ‘personality’ … and we don’t have the option to just use other models.”

From Los Angeles Times

In seven films, the “Jurassic” franchise has not had a more obnoxious group of people than the Delgados, whose job is, it seems, to constantly make the most boneheaded, nonsensical choices in any given scenario.

From Salon

Related Words

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