nuisance

[ noo-suhns, nyoo- ]

/ ˈnu səns, ˈnyu- /

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See 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

Words nearby nuisance

nugae, nugatory, nuggar, nugget, nuggety, nuisance, nuisance ground, nuisance tax, Nuits-Saint-Georges, NUJ, Nu Jiang

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use nuisance in a sentence

My experience working through the many nuisances associated with vacation rentals has shown me that a compromise was the best approach for Mission Beach and is likely the best approach for San Diego.
There’s a Vacation Rental Compromise on the Table — Take it|Matt Gardner|September 3, 2020|Voice of San Diego
The public nuisance complaint came down in January 2020, triggering the evacuation.
The Deal Before the 101 Ash St. Debacle Helps Explain How We Got Here|Lisa Halverstadt and Jesse Marx|August 24, 2020|Voice of San Diego
San Diego’s real estate assets director is resigning less than a week after the release of a devastating review of the city’s acquisition of a downtown high-rise that the county declared a public nuisance following a series of asbestos violations.
City’s Real Estate Assets Director Resigns Amid Scrutiny Over Ash Street Deal|Lisa Halverstadt and Jesse Marx|August 4, 2020|Voice of San Diego
Then, in January 2020, after finding debris in a conference room on the seventh floor that was theoretically accessible to city workers, the county issued a public nuisance order.
City Botched High-Rise Deal from Acquisition to Renovation, Investigation Finds|Jesse Marx and Lisa Halverstadt|July 30, 2020|Voice of San Diego

A day after the fire started, the county air pollution control agency issued three violations against the Navy, citing the fire’s smoke and odors as a public nuisance under state health and safety and county codes.
San Diego County Cites Navy for Ship Fire|MacKenzie Elmer|July 24, 2020|Voice of San Diego
Poetry would be too obvious, too ‘portrait of the artist as a young nuisance’.
Colm Toibin Describes The Creation Of His Quiet Masterpiece ‘Nora Webster’|Jennie Yabroff|November 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
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
It also reduces nuisance, so there is less trouble in the neighborhood.
Why Everyone Should Copy Amsterdam’s Beer-for-Work Scheme|Nadette De Visser|January 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Beastly nuisance; we shall all have to clear out, for I suppose it won't be a mere matter of scratches.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
It was rather a nuisance, too, to find that wherever he went he excited a considerable amount of attention.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
Even the storage of gasoline in suitable tanks set down in the earth is not a nuisance.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman|Albert Sidney Bolles
Yet the business may become a nuisance when conducted in some localities, or in an improper manner.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman|Albert Sidney Bolles
I am very much taken with her, which causes Rubinstein to be a perfect nuisance.
The Life & Letters of Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky|Modeste Tchaikovsky

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with nuisance

nuisance

see make a nuisance of oneself.

nuisance

Origin of nuisance

Words nearby nuisance

Words related to nuisance

How to use nuisance in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for nuisance

Word Origin for nuisance

Other Idioms and Phrases with nuisance