English Dictionary: noisome | by the DICT Development Group |
2 results for noisome | |
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]: | |
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From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: | |
Noisome \Noi"some\, a. [For noysome, fr. noy for annoy. See {Annoy}.] 1. Noxious to health; hurtful; mischievous; unwholesome; insalubrious; destructive; as, noisome effluvia. [bd]Noisome pestilence.[b8] --Ps. xci. 3. 2. Offensive to the smell or other senses; disgusting; fetid. [bd]Foul breath is noisome.[b8] --Shak. -- {Noi"some*ly}, adv. -- {Noi"some*ness}, n. Syn: Noxious; unwholesome; insalubrious; mischievous; destructive. Usage: {Noisome}, {Noxious}. These words have to a great extent been interchanged; but there is a tendency to make a distinction between them, applying noxious to things that inflict evil directly; as, a noxious plant, noxious practices, etc., and noisome to things that operate with a remoter influence; as, noisome vapors, a noisome pestilence, etc. Noisome has the additional sense of disqusting. A garden may be free from noxious weeds or animals; but, if recently covered with manure, it may be filled with a noisome smell. |