noxious

adjective

nox·​ious ˈnäk-shəs How to pronounce noxious (audio)
1
a
: physically harmful or destructive to living beings
noxious waste
noxious fumes
b
: constituting a harmful influence on mind or behavior
especially : morally corrupting
noxious doctrines
2
: disagreeable, obnoxious
this noxious political scandalH. L. Ickes
noxiously adverb
noxiousness noun
Choose the Right Synonym for noxious

pernicious, baneful, noxious, deleterious, detrimental mean exceedingly harmful.

pernicious implies irreparable harm done through evil or insidious corrupting or undermining.

the claim that pornography has a pernicious effect on society

baneful implies injury through poisoning or destroying.

the baneful notion that discipline destroys creativity

noxious applies to what is both offensive and injurious to the health of a body or mind.

noxious chemical fumes

deleterious applies to what has an often unsuspected harmful effect.

a diet found to have deleterious effects

detrimental implies obvious harmfulness to something specified.

the detrimental effects of excessive drinking

Examples of noxious in a Sentence

mixing bleach and ammonia can cause noxious fumes that can seriously harm you noxious smog that for years has been encrusting the historic cathedral with soot
Recent Examples on the Web Major blazes in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside counties are gnawing through sun-baked hillsides, threatening lives and properties and blanketing the region with noxious ash and smoke. Hayley Smith, Los Angeles Times, 13 Sep. 2024 Then there was the enormous and noxious meat-packing complex a few miles downriver, not to mention tens of thousands of houses and shops heated with coal. Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 4 Aug. 2024 Produced entirely by Pharrell, the new album is full of the noxious synths and quaking 808s of the Clipse’s classic work. Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 4 Sep. 2024 Avoiding fumes Avoiding noxious, polluting fumes is one of the main advantages to not using fossil-fuel generators. Allyson Chiu, Washington Post, 14 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for noxious 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'noxious.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English noxius, borrowed from Latin noxius "guilty, delinquent, harmful, injurious" (derivative of noxa "injurious behavior, harm, mischief") + -us -ous; noxa derivative (perhaps with -s- as a desiderative suffix) from the base of nocēre "to damage (things), injure, harm (persons)," going back to Indo-European *noḱ-éi̯e- "destroy" (with semantic weakening in Latin), whence also Sanskrit nāśáyati "(s/he) destroys," causative derivatives from a verbal base *neḱ- "disappear, pass out of existence, perish," whence, with varying ablaut grades, Sanskrit náśyati "(s/he) is lost, perishes," Avestan nąsat̰ "has gone away, is lost," Tocharian B näk- "destroy," (in middle voice) "disappear, be destroyed"

Note: The Indo-European verbal base *neḱ- is also the source of a root noun attested as Latin nec-, nex "violent death, killing"; see necro-.

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of noxious was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near noxious

Cite this Entry

“Noxious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/noxious. Accessed 4 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

noxious

adjective
nox·​ious ˈnäk-shəs How to pronounce noxious (audio)
: harmful especially to health : unwholesome
noxious fumes

Medical Definition

noxious

adjective
nox·​ious ˈnäk-shəs How to pronounce noxious (audio)
: physically harmful or destructive to living beings
noxious wastes

More from Merriam-Webster on noxious

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