inconvenience

1 of 2

noun

in·​con·​ve·​nience ˌin-kən-ˈvē-nyən(t)s How to pronounce inconvenience (audio)
1
: something that is inconvenient
2
: the quality or state of being inconvenient

inconvenience

2 of 2

verb

in·​con·​ve·​nience ˌin-kən-ˈvē-nyən(t)s How to pronounce inconvenience (audio)
inconvenienced; inconveniencing

transitive verb

: to cause problems or trouble for : subject to inconvenience
sorry to inconvenience you

Examples of inconvenience in a Sentence

Noun Needham was sorry to see him go, for although his high-handedness … had caused some inconvenience, his intelligence and courage were of the first water. Simon Winchester, The Man Who Loved China, 2008
Any wish or even longing I might have to see her produced no results; sometimes when she showed up it was actually inconvenient, but frustrated longing and inconvenience both ended the same way … Jane Smiley, Good Faith, 2003
Jem knew as well as I that it was difficult to walk fast without stumping a toe, tripping on stones, and other inconveniences, and I was barefooted. Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, 1960
I hope this delay doesn't cause you any inconvenience. Bridge repairs cannot be done without some inconvenience to the public. Parking in the city can be a major inconvenience. The delay was an inconvenience. Verb … I could count on one of my aunts to insist that she take me to some far-off corner of Nairobi to find the best bargains, no matter how long the trip took or how much it might inconvenience her. Barack Obama, Dreams from My Father, (1995) 2004
Medieval manuscripts are turgid with abbreviations, which favor the copyist although they inconvenience the reader. Walter J. Ong, Orality and Literacy, (1982) 2002
The work was inconvenienced by the time of year, there being only about three hours of natural light per day, but the pyroclastic spectacle made the darkness photogenic. John McPhee, New Yorker, 22 Feb. 1988
I wouldn't want to inconvenience you. We were inconvenienced by the bad weather.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
Alas, technocrats keep grinding away at products that aim to increase your quality of life by a few percentage points by cutting out friction and inconvenience. Pete Cottell, Wired News, 17 July 2025 The airline also issued you a $350 voucher per person as compensation for the inconvenience caused by the changes to your itinerary. Christopher Elliott, Mercury News, 16 July 2025
Verb
Its strict people had inconvenienced my father, perhaps humiliated him. Jhumpa Lahiri, New Yorker, 30 June 2025 Be thankful and accept that some risk aversion will likely inconvenience you at times. Marshall Shepherd, Forbes.com, 28 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for inconvenience

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

Middle English, misfortune, inconsistency, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin inconvenientia, from Latin inconvenient-, inconveniens

First Known Use

Noun

1534, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

circa 1656, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of inconvenience was in 1534

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Inconvenience.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inconvenience. Accessed 22 Jul. 2025.

Kids Definition

inconvenience

1 of 2 noun
in·​con·​ve·​nience ˌin-kən-ˈvē-nyən(t)s How to pronounce inconvenience (audio)
1
: something that is inconvenient
2
: the quality or state of being inconvenient

inconvenience

2 of 2 verb
inconvenienced; inconveniencing
: to cause discomfort to : put to trouble
inconvenienced by the bad weather

More from Merriam-Webster on inconvenience

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