nuisance

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Anglo-Norman nusaunce, nussance etc., from Old French nuisance, from nuisir (“to harm”) (, from Latin noceō (“I harm”), nocēre).

Pronunciation

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• IPA^(key): /ˈn(j)uːsəns/
• IPA^(key): /ˈnjuːsəns/

Noun

nuisance (countable and uncountable, plural nuisances)

1. A minor annoyance or inconvenience.
2. A person or thing causing annoyance or inconvenience.
   • 2017 March 14, Stuart James, “Leicester stun Sevilla to reach last eight after Kasper Schmeichel save”, in the Guardian‎^[1]:

     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

• (minor annoyance or inconvenience): enjoyment

Related terms

• nuisance call
• nuisance tax

Translations

minor annoyance or inconvenience

• Arabic: إِزْعَاج m (ʔizʕāj)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 討厭的事／讨厌的事, 讨厌的事 (tǎoyàn de shì), 麻煩事／麻烦事, 麻烦事 (máfan shì) (thing); 討厭的人／讨厌的人, 讨厌的人 (tǎoyàn de rén), 麻煩人／麻烦人 (máfan rén), 麻烦人 (máfan rén) (person)

• Dutch: overlast (nl) m
• 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)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• 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
• Polish: niedogodność (pl) f, uciążliwość (pl) f
• Portuguese: incômodo (pt), distúrbio (pt), inconveniente (pt)
• 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)
• Turkish: sıkıntı (tr)

person or thing causing annoyance of inconvenience

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 討厭的事／讨厌的事, 讨厌的事 (tǎoyàn de shì), 麻煩事／麻烦事, 麻烦事 (máfan shì) (thing); 討厭的人／讨厌的人, 讨厌的人 (tǎoyàn de rén), 麻煩人／麻烦人, 麻烦人 (máfan rén) (person)

• Dutch: lastpost (nl) m
• Esperanto: agacaĵo, malagrablaĵo
• Finnish: kiusankappale (fi), riesa (fi), maanvaiva
• Galician: arniveque m, torgallo m, pentenexo m, pexo m, enturro m, canfornio m, arrancallo m, zaquizallo m, xecas m
• German: Quälgeist (de) m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Indonesian: orang rewel
• Japanese: 厄介者 (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
• Polish: utrapieniec (pl) m pers, utrapienie (pl) n
• Portuguese: inconveniente (pt), inadequado (pt), inoportuno (pt)
• Spanish: inconveniente (es) m, estorbo (es) m

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

• Dutch: overlast (nl) m
• German: Belästigung (de) f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hungarian: botrány (hu), botrányokozás, közbotrányokozás, botránkozás, megbotránkozás (hu)
• Korean: 방해 (ko) (banghae)
• Polish: zakłócenie porządku n

References

• nuisance on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

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French

Etymology

From Old French nuisance, from nuisir (“to harm”) (compare also French nuire), from Latin noceō (“I harm”), nocēre; may correspond to Late Latin nocēntia.

Pronunciation

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

Noun

nuisance f (plural nuisances)

1. pollution

   Les nuisances sonores sont un véritable fléau dans ce quartier.

Related terms

• nuire

Further reading

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