nuisance

English

Etymology

From Middle English noysaunce, from Anglo-Norman nusaunce, nussance and Old French nuisance, from nuisir (“to harm”), from Latin nocēre. Doublet of nocence and nocency.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈnjuː.səns/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈnuː.səns/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -uːsəns

Noun

nuisance (countable and uncountable, plural nuisances)

1. A minor annoyance or inconvenience.

   The neighbor's dog barking throughout the night is a right nuisance - I'm going to complain.

   What a nuisance to have to go now!

   • 2010, Jeffrey M. Wooldridge, Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data, 2nd edition, The MIT Press, page 407:

     By itself, nondifferentiability at zero is a minor nuisance.

2. A person or thing causing annoyance or inconvenience.

   You can be such a nuisance when you don't get your way.

   • 2017 March 14, Stuart James, “Leicester stun Sevilla to reach last eight after Kasper Schmeichel save”, in the Guardian‎:

     With Vardy working tirelessly up front, chasing lost causes and generally making a nuisance of himself, Sevilla were never allowed to settle on a night when the atmosphere was electric inside the King Power Stadium.

3. (law) Anything harmful or offensive to the community or to a member of it, for which a legal remedy exists.

   a public nuisance

Synonyms

• (minor annoyance or inconvenience): annoyance, inconvenience, offense
• (person or thing causing annoyance or inconvenience): bother, obstacle, pest

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “minor annoyance or inconvenience”): enjoyment

Derived terms

• attractive nuisance
• make a nuisance of oneself
• nuisance call
• nuisance caller
• nuisance candidate
• nuisance fee
• nuisance ground
• nuisance parameter
• nuisance tax

Descendants

• → Welsh: niwsans

Translations

minor annoyance or inconvenience

Arabic: إِزْعَاج m (ʔizʕāj) Bulgarian: досада (bg) f (dosada), неприятност (bg) f (neprijatnost) Catalan: molèstia (ca) f, incomoditat (ca) f, lata (ca) f Chinese: Mandarin: 討厭的事 / 讨厌的事 (tǎoyàn de shì), 麻煩事 / 麻烦事 (máfan shì) (thing); 討厭的人 / 讨厌的人 (tǎoyàn de rén), 麻煩人 / 麻烦人 (máfan rén) (person) Dutch: ergernis (nl) f, ongemak (nl) n Finnish: harmi (fi), kiusa (fi), riesa (fi) French: embêtement (fr) m, nuisance (fr) f Galician: encambullada f, enfolico m, engarro m German: Ärgernis (de) n, Ärger (de) m Greek: μπελάς (el) m (belás), βάσανο (el) n (vásano), ενόχληση (el) f (enóchlisi) Hungarian: kellemetlenség (hu), bosszúság (hu) Indonesian: gangguan (id) Irish: crá croí m Japanese: 迷惑 (ja) (めいわく, meiwaku), 迷惑な物 (めいわくなもの, meiwaku na mono) (thing), 迷惑な人 (めいわくなひと) (person) Kabuverdianu: ingisu Korean: 성가심 (ko) (seonggasim), 불쾌함 (bulkwaeham) Maori: pōrearea, whakahōhā Norman: emmèrde f Plautdietsch: Ploag f Polish: niedogodność (pl) f, uciążliwość (pl) f Portuguese: incômodo (pt), distúrbio (pt), inconveniente (pt), pedra no sapato (slang) Russian: неприя́тность (ru) f (neprijátnostʹ), доса́да (ru) f (dosáda), неудо́бство (ru) n (neudóbstvo), поме́ха (ru) f (poméxa), доса́да (ru) f (dosáda), ньюснс m (nʹjusns) Spanish: molestia (es) f, engorro (es) m, incomodidad (es) f, molienda (es) f (colloquial), giba (es) f (colloquial) Swahili: kero (sw) Turkish: sıkıntı (tr)

person or thing causing annoyance or inconvenience

Bulgarian: досадник m (dosadnik) Catalan: pesat (ca) m, plepa (ca) m or f (colloquial) Chinese: Mandarin: 麻煩事 / 麻烦事 (máfan shì), 討厭的事 / 讨厌的事 (tǎoyàn de shì) (thing); 麻煩人 / 麻烦人 (máfan rén), 討厭的人 / 讨厌的人 (tǎoyàn de rén), 討厭鬼 / 讨厌鬼 (zh) (tǎoyànguǐ) (person) Dutch: lastpost (nl) m Esperanto: agacaĵo, malagrablaĵo Finnish: kiusankappale (fi), riesa (fi), maanvaiva Galician: arniveque m, torgallo (gl) m, pentenexo m, pexo m, enturro m, canfornio m, arrancallo m, zaquizallo m, xecas m German: Quälgeist (de) m Indonesian: orang rewel Irish: crá croí m Japanese: 厄介者 (ja) (やっかいもの, yakkai-mono), 迷惑な物 (めいわくなもの, meiwaku na mono) (thing), 迷惑な人 (めいわくなひと) (person) Maori: pōrearea Plautdietsch: Onjenieech n Polish: utrapieniec (pl) m pers, utrapienie (pl) n Portuguese: inconveniente (pt), inadequado (pt), inoportuno (pt) Spanish: inconveniente (es) m, estorbo (es) m, pepla (es) f (colloquial), engarnio m (colloquial), molienda (es) f (colloquial)

law: anything harmful or offensive to the community or to a member of it

Dutch: overlast (nl) m German: Belästigung (de) f Hungarian: botrány (hu), botrányokozás, közbotrányokozás, botránkozás (hu), megbotránkozás (hu) Irish: núis f Korean: 방해 (ko) (banghae) Middle English: noysaunce Polish: zakłócenie porządku n

References

• nuisance on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

French

Etymology

Inherited from Old French nuisance, from nuisir (“to harm”) (compare also French nuire), from Latin nocēre; may correspond to Late Latin nocentia.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nɥi.zɑ̃s/
• Rhymes: -ɑ̃s

Noun

nuisance f (plural nuisances)

1. nuisance
2. pollution

   Les nuisances sonores sont un véritable fléau dans ce quartier.

   Noise pollution is a real scourge in this neighbourhood.

Related terms

• nuire

Further reading

• “nuisance”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.