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"Noisome" = foul-smelling, offensive, or harmful to health; "noisy" = making or full of loud sound.
Side-by-side comparison
"Noisome" has nothing to do with noise. It means offensive to the senses, foul-smelling, or harmful to health. It is a formal and literary word.
The noisome smell from the rubbish dump made it impossible to open the windows.
The medieval streets were noisome and overcrowded, with waste running between the buildings.
A noisome gas had filled the old cellar, making it dangerous for anyone to go inside.
"Noisy" does describe noise: something or someone that produces a lot of sound and is bothersome for that reason. It is the everyday word most people are looking for.
The flat above ours is very noisy, you can hear everything, even conversations.
She moved to a quieter area because her old street was too noisy to sleep on weekends.
The restaurant was too noisy for conversation, we had to lean in just to hear each other.
Common mistake
- •"Noisome" has nothing to do with sound: it means foul-smelling or harmful to health.
- •It is an internal false friend: "noisome" derives from "annoy," not from "noise."
Trick to remember it
- •"Noisome" = annoy-some: something that intensely bothers your senses through bad smell or harmful properties.
- •"Noisy" targets your ears.
- •"Noisome" targets your nose and health.
Quick rule
- •"Noisome" = foul-smelling, nauseating, harmful to health (nothing to do with sound).
- •"Noisy" = making loud sounds (only about sound).
Did you know?
NOISOME is a classic example of an "internal false cognate", words within the same language that appear related but are not. The "noy" root of NOISOME comes from Old French "anoier" (to bother, to annoy), which in turn comes from Latin "inodiare" (to cause hatred/disgust). This root gave English both ANNOY and NUISANCE. NOISE, meanwhile, comes from a different Latin root: "nausea" (via Old French "noise" = dispute, quarrel, commotion). So historically, NOISE comes from... nausea. Language never stops surprising.
Practise what you learned
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
The children were so _____ at the table that the waiter had to ask them to be quiet.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
The _____ smell coming from the drains was unbearable in the summer heat.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Related word pairs
"Discomfit" = to disconcert, unsettle, or frustrate someone; "discomfort" = to cause or feel physical or emotional unease.
'Restive' = restless or hard to control; 'restful' = calm, providing relaxation or rest.
"Above" is at a higher level without contact; "over" implies covering, movement, or crossing.
'Currently' means 'at the present time'; 'actually' means 'in reality', not 'nowadays'.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy