nuisance

[ noo-suh ns, nyoo- ]

/ ˈnu səns, ˈnyu- /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR nuisance ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an obnoxious or annoying person, thing, condition, practice, etc.: a monthly meeting that was more nuisance than pleasure.

Law. something offensive or annoying to individuals or to the community, especially in violation of their legal rights.

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Origin of nuisance

1375–1425; late Middle English nu(i)sa(u)nce < Anglo-French, equivalent to nuis(er) to harm (≪ Latin nocēre) + -ance -ance

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for nuisance

If my legs made me a nuisance, I vowed to become less of one.
‘Tracing the Blue Light’: Read Chapter 1 of Eileen Cronin’s ‘Mermaid’|Eileen Cronin|April 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Other questions: Should nuisance bears be euthanized if they are serial offenders?
In Florida, Sprawling Humans Confront the Bears Who Lived There First|Jacqui Goddard|March 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Last year, there were a record 6,726, covering “nuisance” behavior, property damage, injuries to bears, and injuries to humans.
In Florida, Sprawling Humans Confront the Bears Who Lived There First|Jacqui Goddard|March 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But the Roma remained on the streets of French cities, perceived as a nuisance in many places, a threat in some.
Roma Immigrants Have Set France on Edge|Christopher Dickey, Alice Guilhamon|October 4, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Franz Joseph lit the Hofburg Palace with kerosene lamps and viewed the telephone as a nuisance.
Before the Fall: What Did the World Look Like in 1913?|Jacob Heilbrunn|June 9, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Anger or fear is often a nuisance in civilized life, and any strong emotion is apt to disturb mental work or skilled manual work.
Psychology|Robert S. Woodworth
But, though few in number, they had already proved a nuisance.
Nineteen Centuries of Drink in England|Richard Valpy French
Often, however, this ability is a disadvantage, because the plants are prone to spread and become a nuisance unless watched.
Culinary Herbs: Their Cultivation Harvesting Curing and Uses|M. G. Kains
Without the peaceable spirit it only renders its possessor a bully and a nuisance.
The Big Otter|R.M. Ballantyne
It's a nuisance to have to give ourselves away, but I can't see anything for it but to knock and get the window opened.
The Girls of St. Cyprian's|Angela Brazil

British Dictionary definitions for nuisance

nuisance

/ (ˈnjuːsəns) /

noun

a person or thing that causes annoyance or bother
(as modifier)nuisance calls

law something unauthorized that is obnoxious or injurious to the community at large (public nuisance) or to an individual, esp in relation to his ownership or occupation of property (private nuisance)

nuisance value the usefulness of a person's or thing's capacity to cause difficulties or irritation

Word Origin for nuisance

C15: via Old French from nuire to injure, from Latin nocēre

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for nuisance

nuisance

c.1400, "injury, hurt, harm," from Anglo-French nusaunce, Old French nuisance "harm, wrong, damage," from past participle stem of nuire "to harm," from Latin nocere "to hurt" (see noxious). Sense has softened over time, to "anything obnoxious to a community" (bad smells, pests, eyesores), 1660s, then "source of annoyance, something personally disagreeable" (1831). Applied to persons from 1690s.

Idioms and Phrases with nuisance

nuisance

see make a nuisance of oneself.

nuisance

noun

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Origin of nuisance

Examples from the Web for nuisance

nuisance

noun

Word Origin for nuisance

nuisance

nuisance