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

He hasn’t seen ads but “if it becomes obnoxious, that would be a concern.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The tongue-out trend, like many of its kind, began as something "obnoxious and inconsiderate, rather than inherently hostile", he says.

Read more on BBC

He tries to be civil, but he’s organically obnoxious.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Responding to the flippant nature of his previous response, Isaac noted how seemingly obnoxious that quote sounded.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“It was obnoxious. He was a lovely guy. He was just wrong. I was no longer the underdog. And I had to conduct myself in a different way.”

Read more on Literature

Related Words

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