nuisance
UK /ˈnjuː.səns/ · US /ˈnuː.səns/ noun
Forms nuisances
- noun A minor annoyance or inconvenience. “The neighbor's dog barking throughout the night is a right nuisance - I'm going to complain.”
- noun A person or thing causing annoyance or inconvenience. “You can be such a nuisance when you don't get your way.”
- noun (law) Anything harmful or offensive to the community or to a member of it, for which a legal remedy exists. “a public nuisance”
Synonyms
annoyance inconvenience offense bother obstacle pest faff grievance hassle irritation palaver peeve plague trouble vexation pain pain in the neck
Antonyms
Etymology
From Middle English noysaunce, from Anglo-Norman nusaunce, nussance and Old French nuisance, from nuisir (“to harm”), from Latin nocēre. Doublet of nocence and nocency.
Webster’s 1913
Etymology [OE. noisance, OF. noisance, nuisance, fr. L. nocentia guilt, fr. nocere to hurt, harm; akin to necare to kill. Cf Necromancy, Nocent, Noxious, Pernicious.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “nuisance”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details