# obnoxious

> English word · Adjective · IPA /əbˈnɒkʃəs/ · frequency rank #17,685

## Definitions
1. Extremely offensive or unpleasant; very annoying, contemptible, or odious.
2. Unjustly disagreeable, argumentative or objectionable; brazenly rude.
3. Exposed or vulnerable to something, especially harm or injury.
4. Causing harm or injury; harmful, hurtful, injurious.
5. Deserving of blame or punishment; blameworthy, guilty.
6. Under the authority or power of someone; subject, subordinate; hence, deferential, submissive, subservient.
7. Followed by to: likely to do something.

## Etymology
PIE word
 *h₁epi
Learned borrowing from Latin obnoxiōsus (“subject to someone, under someone’s authority”) + English -ous (suffix denoting the presence of a quality in any degree, typically an abundance). Obnoxiōsus is derived from obnoxius (“guilty, punishable; subject to someone, under someone’s authority”) + -ōsus (suffix meaning ‘full of; overly; prone to’, forming adjectives from nouns).

## Common misspellings (12)
`bonoxious`, `obbnoxious`, `obnnoxious`, `obnoixous`, `obnoxiosu`, `obnoxiouss`, `obnoxiuos`, `obnoxoius`, `obnoxxious`, `obnxoious`, `obonxious`, `onboxious`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/obnoxious