Dictionary
Thesaurus
Reference
Translate
Web
Noxious - 6 dictionary results

nox⋅ious

[nok-shuhs]
–adjective
1. harmful or injurious to health or physical well-being: noxious fumes.
2. morally harmful; corrupting; pernicious: a noxious plan to spread dissension.

Origin:
1605–15; < L noxius harmful, hurtful, injurious, equiv. to nox(a) harm, hurt, injury (akin to nocēre to do harm, inflict injury; see innocent ) + -ius -ious


nox⋅ious⋅ly, adverb
nox⋅ious⋅ness, noun


1. hurtful, unwholesome, unhealthy, nocuous, detrimental, deleterious. 2. corruptive.


1, 2. harmless.
nox·ious   (nŏk'shəs)   
adj.  
  1. Harmful to living things; injurious to health: noxious chemical wastes.
  2. Harmful to the mind or morals; corrupting: noxious ideas.

[Middle English noxius, from Latin, from noxa, damage; see nek-1 in Indo-European roots.]
nox'ious·ly adv., nox'ious·ness n.

Noxious

Nox"ious\, a. [L. noxius, fr. noxa harm; akin to nocere to harm, hurt. Cf. Nuisance, Necromancy.]

1. Hurtful; harmful; baneful; pernicious; injurious; destructive; unwholesome; insalubrious; as, noxious air, food, or climate; pernicious; corrupting to morals; as, noxious practices or examples.

Too frequent an appearance in places of public resort is noxious to spiritual promotions. --Swift.

2. Guilty; criminal. [R.]

Those who are noxious in the eye of the law. --Abp. Bramhall.

Syn: Noisome; hurtful; harmful; injurious; destructive; pernicious; mischievous; corrupting; baneful; unwholesome; insalubrious. See Noisome. -- Nox"ious*ly, adv. -- Nox"ious*ness, n.

noxious 
1612, from L. noxius "hurtful, injurious," from noxa "injury, hurt, damage entailing liability" (related to nocere "to hurt," and to nex "slaughter"), from PIE *nek-ro-, causative form of root *nek- "death" (cf. Skt. nasyati "disappears, perishes," Avestan nasyeiti, Gk. nekus "dead body, corpse," O.Ir. ec, Bret. ankou "death."

Main Entry: nox·ious
Pronunciation: 'näk-sh&s
Function: adjective
: physically harmful or destructive to living beings <noxiouswastes that turn our streams into sewers>

noxious nox·ious (nŏk'shəs)
adj.
Harmful to living things; injurious to health.


nox'ious·ness n.

Search another word or see Noxious on Thesaurus | Reference