noxious
Americanadjective
-
harmful or injurious to health or physical well-being.
noxious fumes.
- Synonyms:
- deleterious, detrimental, nocuous, unhealthy, unwholesome, hurtful
- Antonyms:
- harmless
-
morally harmful; corrupting; pernicious.
a noxious plan to spread dissension.
- Synonyms:
- corruptive
- Antonyms:
- harmless
adjective
-
poisonous or harmful
-
harmful to the mind or morals; corrupting
Other Word Forms
- noxiously adverb
- noxiousness noun
Etymology
Origin of noxious
1605–15; < Latin noxius harmful, hurtful, injurious, equivalent to nox ( a ) harm, hurt, injury (akin to nocēre to do harm, inflict injury; innocent ) + -ius -ious
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.
Light from these ornate lanterns gave the room a hazy yellow glow, and thick, noxious incense filled my nose and stung my eyes.
From Literature
Sereen Banna said the partners of Downtown LA Law Group called her “Erin Brockovich” for her work helping hundreds sue over noxious fumes spewing out of a landfill in northern Los Angeles County.
From Los Angeles Times
They exported to the world the noxious idea that poor countries were poor because they had too many babies.
It's hard enough to stop things getting noxious even when two title rivals are in different teams, such as in the tense relationship between Hamilton and Max Verstappen in 2021.
From BBC
However, now her family hardly spends any time outdoors due to the noxious odors.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
