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annoying
[ uh-noi-ing ]
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Other Words From
- an·noying·ly adverb
- an·noying·ness noun
- half-an·noying adjective
- half-an·noying·ly adverb
- unan·noying adjective
- unan·noying·ly adverb
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Word History and Origins
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Example Sentences
It’s like when you do an imitation of your annoying coworker from accounting, complete with mimicking the way he makes every sentence sound like a question and his eyes widen when he talks about complex spreadsheets.
If covering the Valley from inside the Valley has taught me one thing, it’s that, like annoying buzzwords, companies come and go.
David Chavern, CEO of the news-publisher trade group News Media Alliance, said the change is “more annoying than material.”
And, he wasn't like one of those Boston guys who were wicked annoying and busted.
Recently, Google has introduced its own methodology that will prevent the annoying ad formats from appearing on web pages.
The ACLU and its allies are trying to undermine the holiday with lawsuits and annoying billboards.
“Drew was being annoying about something,” Jonathan says matter-of-factly, straining his brain for the details of their last tiff.
If any of this flim-flam is true, the lumbersexual already sounds way more annoying than the metrosexual.
He has a voice not dissimilar in timbre and penetrative ability to the incredibly annoying comedian Stephen Merchant.
Sanger felt, to the contrary, that it was the nonacademic masses who tended to be annoying.
It was very annoying—more than ever—to the Elder when he was required to put up twenty-five dollars in cash as a retainer.
Stopping of business would doubtless be annoying and might very likely produce some distress.
It is not only annoying, but absolutely sickening to some, and a truly lady-like person will avoid all such topics.
It is annoying and ill-bred to throw your soiled clothes into the family wash.
Nothing is more annoying than to have the hair loosen or the head-dress fall off in a crowded ball room.
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More About Annoying
What does annoying mean?
Annoying is an adjective that’s used to describe someone or something that annoys you—bothers or irritates you.
The word implies that the resulting irritation does not rise to the level of serious harm or a major problem—even if someone or something is extremely annoying.
People who are annoying are usually engaging in some kind of irritating and unwanted behavior (especially when it’s repeated), such as chewing too loudly or asking you the same question over and over again. Things that are annoying are often those that distract, interrupt, or intrude on what you’re trying to do, like a noise that keeps waking you up when you’re trying to fall asleep or a pop-up ad.
Someone or something that’s annoying can be called an annoyance. The adjective annoyed is used to describe someone who is bothered in this way.
Example: Mom, Jeff is being so annoying! He keeps humming!
Where does annoying come from?
The first records of the word annoying as an adjective come from the 1300s. Its base word, annoy, comes from the Old French anoier, meaning “to tire” or “to harm.” This term derived from the Late Latin verb inodiāre, which means “to cause aversion” and itself comes from the Latin phrase mihi in odiō est, meaning “I dislike.”
People and things that are annoying are doing something that you dislike—something that bothers you. Still, it’s usually something minor and not truly harmful. Annoying has a lot of synonyms that can be used in all kinds of annoying situations, including irritating, bothersome, aggravating, vexatious, irksome, exasperating.
Did you know ... ?
What are some other forms related to annoying?
- annoy (verb)
What are some synonyms for annoying?
What are some words that share a root or word element with annoying?
What are some words that often get used in discussing annoying?
How is annoying used in real life?
Annoying is a very common word that can be used in all kinds of contexts. It’s always used negatively.
The most annoying part about moving is changing your address on EVERYTHING. So annoying 🤦🏽♀️
— Ashley (@Aharmony_92) June 23, 2020
flickering lights are very annoying
— Ballerina Queen (@Ballerina0102) November 9, 2020
Overthinking absolutely everything is what I find most annoying about myself. How do you turn off your thoughts?
— Resident Weirdo (@jaleesha_b) September 30, 2020
Try using annoying!
Which of the following words is a synonym of annoying?
A. bothersome
B. irksome
C. aggravating
D. all of the above
More About Annoying
Where does annoying come from?
When something is annoying, it is irritating, bothersome, vexing, exasperating, or any of the many other English words describing things that cause annoyance. But would you call that same thing odious, that is, “hateful” or “disgusting”? Calling something that is merely annoying odious might be a little extreme, but etymologically speaking, it’s no stretch.
The adjective annoying, recorded in English around 1325–75, is based on the even older verb annoy. (See our entry at -ing for the nitty-gritty on that word element.) Annoy entered English around 1250–1300, borrowed from the French anoier, among other forms, and meaning “to molest, harm, tire.” This French verb is derived from the Late Latin inodiāre, “to cause aversion.”
The Latin verb inodiāre developed from the expression mihi in odiō est, meaning “I dislike.” A literal translation of this expression is “it is in hatred to me,” with in odiō meaning “in hatred.” Odiō is a form of odium, a word directly borrowed into English and meaning “dislike, aversion, hatred,” among other senses. An adjective form of odium in Latin was odiōsus, source of the English odious. And that’s how annoying is connected to odious.
Dig deeper
Another word related to annoying is noisome. Noisome is a tricky word because it looks similar to noisy, but the two do not share a common origin. Noisome means “offensive or disgusting, as an odor” or “harmful or injurious to health; noxious.”
Found in English around 1350–1400, noisome is based on the Middle English noy, a variant of annoy. The second part of the word, –some, was once a very productive English suffix used to form adjectives, as in one of the synonyms for annoying we noted above: bothersome. Can you think of other words that feature the suffix –some?
Did you know ... ?
Have ever been so bored that it downright annoyed you? You may have experienced ennui. While feeling ennui is no fun, ennui is a great word—and, as we trust you already know, learning new words is a great way to cure ennui.
Ennui means “a feeling of utter weariness and discontent resulting from satiety or lack of interest”—or more generally, “boredom.” Ennui was borrowed directly into English from French, in turn from the same Latin roots as annoy.
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