obnoxious

adjective

ob·​nox·​ious äb-ˈnäk-shəs 

əb-

1

: odiously or disgustingly objectionable : highly offensive

2

archaic : exposed to something unpleasant or harmful

—used with to

3

archaic : deserving of censure

obnoxiously adverb

obnoxiousness noun

Synonyms

• abhorrent
• abominable
• appalling
• awful
• disgusting
• distasteful
• dreadful
• evil
• foul
• fulsome
• gross
• hideous
• horrendous
• horrible
• horrid
• loathsome
• nasty
• nauseating
• nauseous
• noisome
• noxious
• obscene
• odious
• offensive
• rancid
• repellent
• repellant
• repugnant
• repulsive
• revolting
• scandalous
• shocking
• sickening
• ugly

Examples of obnoxious in a Sentence

Let's get right into it. The title of your book, Why We Suck, is pretty obnoxious. Are we really that bad? —Rachel Deahl, Boston Globe, 30 Nov. 2008

"Not to sound obnoxious, but this downturn could be good for us," says Max Levchin, founder and CEO of Slide, in San Francisco. "Some of our competitors are going to go out of business." —Daniel Lyons, Newsweek, 20 Oct. 2008

Now that many large cities are surrounded by Stygian fields of concrete tedium, urban sprawl looks like an obnoxious side effect of prosperity and decline. —Graham Robb, The Discovery of France, 2007

The teller's eyes widened as a customer poured thousands of pennies onto the counter, an intentionally obnoxious way to pay a high heating bill. —Erik Eckholm, New York Times, 26 June 2006

He said some really obnoxious things about his ex-girlfriend at the party.

Some teenagers were being loud and obnoxious.

Recent Examples on the Web

There were a lot of people who had come to Newport just to hear Bob Dylan, the friend of the Beatles, play ‘Like a Rolling Stone’ and who were being really obnoxious about the other acts. —Chris Willman, Variety, 26 Dec. 2024

The wallflower being bullied by the obnoxious rapper has a callous side. —Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 26 Dec. 2024

Dales plays Deputy McCray, the obnoxious, abrasive head of the local Drug Task Force. —Denise Petski, Deadline, 20 Dec. 2024

Not wishy-washy George Clooney, not low-life Mark Ruffalo, not obnoxious Edward Norton, not freaky boho Johnny Depp, not wimpy Ryan Gosling or nondescript Glen Powell. —Armond White, National Review, 18 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Latin obnoxius "under obligation, subservient, liable, exposed to, vulnerable" (of uncertain origin) + -ous

Note: Latin obnoxius has traditionally been taken to be a parasynthetic derivative from the phrase ob noxiam "due to wrongdoing, on account of bad behavior" (see noxious), but this explanation does not account for the primary senses of the word. Ernout and Meillet (Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue latine) take -noxius as a desiderative derivative from the base of nancīscī "to acquire" (see enough entry 1), parallel to anxius "worried"/angere "to strangle, distress" (see anxious), alsius "liable to injury from cold"/algēre "to be cold." The English sense "objectionable" is probably due to influence of noxious and its etymon, Latin noxius.

First Known Use

1597, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Kids Definition

obnoxious

adjective

ob·​nox·​ious äb-ˈnäk-shəs 

əb-

: very disagreeable or offensive

obnoxiously adverb

obnoxiousness noun