Words / C2

NOKSH-uh-s/ˈnɒkʃəs/

Noxious means harmful or poisonous, of fumes, ideas, or influence (formal): noxious gas, noxious rhetoric. Harmful and toxic (already in the dictionary) are everyday; deleterious and pernicious (already in the dictionary) are close C2 twins. Innocuous (already in the dictionary) is the opposite flavour. Noisome (this batch) is often the smell. Do not call a required safety objection noxious to shut it down.

Meaning

Harmful, poisonous, or morally corrupting (formal).

Examples

• “A noxious leak of draft grades is not “robust debate”.”
• “Harmful is everyday (already in the dictionary). Toxic is close (already in the dictionary). Deleterious is gradually harmful (already in C2). Pernicious is destructively harmful (already in C2). Innocuous is harmless (already in C2). A dated risk in the minutes can sting and still be the right item. Theatre is not the same as naming a poison.”

Good to know

Harmful; poisonous. Everyday: harmful / toxic. Close: deleterious; pernicious. Contrast: innocuous; cousin: noisome (this batch). A safety point is not a toxin for being unwelcome.

Near in meaning

harmful

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