in·con·ve·nience
ˌin-kən-ˈvē-nyən(t)s 
1
: something that is inconvenient
2
: the quality or state of being inconvenient
in·con·ve·nience
ˌin-kən-ˈvē-nyən(t)s
inconvenienced; inconveniencing
: to cause problems or trouble for : subject to inconvenience
sorry to inconvenience you
Synonyms
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.
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 WebPeter Valdes-Dapena, CNN, 9 Apr. 2024
Without a common reference frame, confusion can ensue—from small inconveniences to graver problems, such as mapping inconsistencies and navigation errors.
—Christian Thorsberg, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Apr. 2024
And plenty of women remain dissatisfied with the inconveniences and risks that come with the choices at hand.
—Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 3 Apr. 2024
The criticism is not just about inconvenience, though.
—Keir Simmons, NBC News, 27 Mar. 2024
Fisher eventually decided methadone treatment wasn’t worth the expense and inconvenience of driving over 400 miles each week.
—Lev Facher, STAT, 26 Mar. 2024
Winter weather advisory: A winter weather advisory will be issued for winter weather expected to cause a significant inconvenience but not serious enough to warrant a warning.
—Eshaan Sarup, The Arizona Republic, 19 Mar. 2024
This mere inconvenience for most people can be a serious or even life-threatening mistake for people who have a soy allergy or wheat allergy.
—David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 29 Feb. 2024
The only inconvenience with this model is its lack of object avoidance technology.
—Madison Yauger, Peoplemag, 1 Mar. 2024
Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 27 Mar. 2024
Two Madonna fans filed a federal lawsuit against the iconic performer on Wednesday, accusing her of showing up hours late at a show last month and needlessly inconveniencing concertgoers.
—David K. Li, NBC News, 24 Jan. 2024
Many industries invite overregulation, which inconveniences existing companies but devastates newcomers — even in the milk market.
—Daryl James, National Review, 17 Mar. 2024
Two Miami Beach hotel workers who were granted the exemption said the city’s changes still inconvenienced them by making parking more competitive.
—Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 8 Mar. 2024
Choice One potential solution is to eliminate door-to-door delivery altogether, but this could inconvenience recipients and increase shipping costs.
—Simon Seeger, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024
That could include some negative feelings over someone else’s relationship to food inconveniencing you.
—Betsy Andrews, Saveur, 14 Feb. 2024
Some people find that the condition limits everyday activities like getting around the home or office, and athletes can be especially inconvenienced as shin splints often require putting many of their physical activities completely on hold.
—Daryl Austin, USA TODAY, 27 Jan. 2024
But its response is to inconvenience customers rather than beef up HP printers to be invulnerable to remote code execution via ink cartridges.
—Scharon Harding, Ars Technica, 22 Jan. 2024
Noun
Toyota executives have long said that hybrid vehicles – which use an electric motor to assist a gas engine in driving a vehicle – offer broad benefits in greenhouse gas reductions, with less cost and inconvenience for consumers than fully electric vehicles.
—Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNN, 9 Apr. 2024
Without a common reference frame, confusion can ensue—from small inconveniences to graver problems, such as mapping inconsistencies and navigation errors.
—Christian Thorsberg, Smithsonian Magazine, 4 Apr. 2024
And plenty of women remain dissatisfied with the inconveniences and risks that come with the choices at hand.
—Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 3 Apr. 2024
The criticism is not just about inconvenience, though.
—Keir Simmons, NBC News, 27 Mar. 2024
Fisher eventually decided methadone treatment wasn’t worth the expense and inconvenience of driving over 400 miles each week.
—Lev Facher, STAT, 26 Mar. 2024
Winter weather advisory: A winter weather advisory will be issued for winter weather expected to cause a significant inconvenience but not serious enough to warrant a warning.
—Eshaan Sarup, The Arizona Republic, 19 Mar. 2024
This mere inconvenience for most people can be a serious or even life-threatening mistake for people who have a soy allergy or wheat allergy.
—David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 29 Feb. 2024
The only inconvenience with this model is its lack of object avoidance technology.
—Madison Yauger, Peoplemag, 1 Mar. 2024
Verb
People trying to bypass Baltimore will be inconvenienced, and people who live there will be unnecessarily burdened, but there will also be workarounds and adaptation.
—Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 27 Mar. 2024
Two Madonna fans filed a federal lawsuit against the iconic performer on Wednesday, accusing her of showing up hours late at a show last month and needlessly inconveniencing concertgoers.
—David K. Li, NBC News, 24 Jan. 2024
Many industries invite overregulation, which inconveniences existing companies but devastates newcomers — even in the milk market.
—Daryl James, National Review, 17 Mar. 2024
Two Miami Beach hotel workers who were granted the exemption said the city’s changes still inconvenienced them by making parking more competitive.
—Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 8 Mar. 2024
Choice One potential solution is to eliminate door-to-door delivery altogether, but this could inconvenience recipients and increase shipping costs.
—Simon Seeger, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024
That could include some negative feelings over someone else’s relationship to food inconveniencing you.
—Betsy Andrews, Saveur, 14 Feb. 2024
Some people find that the condition limits everyday activities like getting around the home or office, and athletes can be especially inconvenienced as shin splints often require putting many of their physical activities completely on hold.
—Daryl Austin, USA TODAY, 27 Jan. 2024
But its response is to inconvenience customers rather than beef up HP printers to be invulnerable to remote code execution via ink cartridges.
—Scharon Harding, Ars Technica, 22 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'inconvenience.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Dictionary Entries Near inconvenience
Cite this Entry
“Inconvenience.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inconvenience. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
inconvenience
1 of 2 noun
in·con·ve·nience
ˌin-kən-ˈvē-nyən(t)s
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
Nglish: Translation of inconvenience for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of inconvenience for Arabic Speakers
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