inconvenient
Americanadjective
-
not easily accessible or at hand.
The phone is in an inconvenient place.
-
inopportune; untimely.
an inconvenient time for a visit.
-
not suiting one's needs or purposes.
The house has an inconvenient floor plan.
- Synonyms:
- bothersome, awkward, annoying
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of inconvenient
1325–75; Middle English < Latin inconvenient- (stem of inconveniēns ) not suiting. See in- 3, convenient
Explanation
Inconvenient things are difficult or annoying to do. If someone asks you to help move a couch on a Saturday when you have tickets to a game, that's an inconvenient request. If you have to go to the bathroom very badly just as a test is starting, that's inconvenient. If the movie projector breaks in the middle of a movie, that's inconvenient. Other times, things are inconvenient just because they're kind of a pain. It’s inconvenient of your mom to ask you to do chores just as you're ready to go out with friends. Inconvenient things get in the way of what we really want to do.
Vocabulary lists containing inconvenient
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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.
Cheryl, another parent, said she found the dates of the drop-in sessions inconvenient, but she agreed that it could make things easier in September.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
"Independence carries a price, and the machinery of the Court can be turned against its own officeholders whenever their independence becomes inconvenient," they said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
It was inconvenient, half-furnished and somehow still felt oddly cinematic, the way schlepping your lives to a new city can feel cinematic, but only with the right person.
From Salon ● Jul. 11, 2026
It’s inconvenient to be reminded that for every victorious warrior, there’s the enemy he defeats.
From Slate ● Jul. 10, 2026
She had numerous health problems, which she addressed selectively, getting treated for back pain, ulcers, and so on, until the treatment became too expensive or inconvenient, or her insurance declined to pay.
From "Class Matters" by The New York 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.
