• home
  • vocab
  • tutoring
  • blog
  • help

Make Your Point > Archived Issues > NOXIOUS

Send Make Your Point issues straight to your inbox.




pronounce NOXIOUS:

NOCK shuss
Your browser does not support the audio element.

connect this word to others:

If you'd never seen the word noxious before, you might guess that it means obnoxious. And that's pretty close! In their most literal senses, something noxious causes injury, and something obnoxious causes injury to or toward someone.

Now, if you have seen the word noxious before, but you weren't sure of its exact meaning, you might guess that it means stinky. That's pretty close, too: we very often talk about noxious fumes and noxious odors. But the word noxious doesn't have to mean "stinky;" it can mean "harmful to the health in any way." Lots of things can be noxious without being stinky, which is why I think it's worth it for us to spend a few minutes on this word, and free it from that overly narrow use.

I'd say the same for the word vicarious. It seems like we almost always talk about "living vicariously." But we can do all sorts of other things vicariously besides live. Could you recall what it actually means when something is vicarious?

definition:

In Latin, nocere means "to harm," and noxa means "harm, hurt, injury, or damage." We took noxa into English around the year 1500 as "noxious."

Something noxious is toxic, unhealthy, or harmful.

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

Adjective: "a noxious personality;" "these noxious comments."

Other forms: 

The common ones are "noxiously" and "noxiousness."

There's also an extremely close synonym of "noxious," which is "nocuous:" they have the same meaning and the same etymology. The difference is that "noxious" is more common, and "nocuous" is more surprising; so, "nocuous" helps you call special attention to how something is not harmless, even though people think it is harmless.

If you need a precise opposite for "noxious," you could use "non-noxious," or the more common word "innocuous." (That word "innocuous" might look a little odd if you were expecting it to be spelled "innoxious," but it's the precise opposite of "noxious" and "nocuous" in both meaning and etymology.)

how to use it:

"Noxious" is a common, formal word with a sharply negative tone.

Although we most often talk about noxious fumes, odors, gases, and chemicals, we can also talk about abstract noxious things that seem to hang in the air or pollute an entire group of people—like noxious opinions, personalities, traditions, or expectations.

examples:

"Commander Root was sucking on a particularly noxious fungus cigar."
— Eoin Colfer, Artemis Fowl, 2001

"An apocalyptic orange haze has shrouded the Manhattan skyline, and noxious brown clouds have been clearly visible in satellite images."
— Staff, Scientific American, 7 June 2023

has this page helped you understand "noxious"?

   

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.


study it:

Explain the meaning of "noxious" without saying "toxic" or "polluting."

try it out:

Amanda Marcotte has argued that American society holds certain "noxious values" about women: namely, that thin women are more worthy than heavier women, and that all women should aim to look thin for men. Yikes!

What are some other examples of noxious values that you've noticed? Do you think there's a way to cure society of these noxious values, or are they inherent in our nature?




before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game for April is "Interpret the Titles: Tim Curry Edition!"

Are you a fan of Tim Curry? (How could anyone not be?) Did you know his birthday is in April? I didn't until I looked it up, but it’s the perfect excuse to base this month's game on his filmography. 

I'll give you the title of some show, movie, or video game that Tim Curry has starred in, along with a summary, and I'll challenge you to interpret the title in three different ways.

To see some examples, and some tips if you get stuck, head here!

Try this last one today: "A Series of Unfortunate Events" was a 2004 video game that starred Tim Curry as the voice of the narrator. It was based on both the series of books by Lemony Snicket and a movie version from earlier in 2004. The game's premise, as IMDb explains, is that "three orphans must live with their cruel uncle who is only interested in their inherited fortune. As they travel from one family member to the next, Count Olaf the uncle follows them while the three kids try to unravel the mystery behind their parent's death." In the game, as Wikipedia explains, "players take the roles of Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire, solving puzzles, fighting villains and finding objects. Players encounter characters such as Mr. Poe, Uncle Monty, and Aunt Josephine, along with villains such as Count Olaf, the Hook-Handed Man, the White-Faced Woman, and the Bald Man with the Long Nose."

1. It's titled "A Series of Unfortunate Events" because... ?

2. It's titled "A Series of Unfortunate Events" because... ?

3. It's titled "A Series of Unfortunate Events" because... ?

To see some possible answers, scroll all the way down!

review this word:

1. The most precise opposites of NOXIOUS are NON-NOXIOUS and INNOCUOUS. But a pretty close opposite of NOXIOUS is

A. BRIGHT.
B. CALMING.
C. WHOLESOME.

2. In his always-entertaining Percy Jackson series, Rick Riordan describes a _____ who "_____."

A. pig .. belch[es] a cloud of noxious gas
B. noxious girl .. normally doesn't judo-flip people
C. Lord of the Titans .. [gets hit] in the noxious eye with a blue plastic hairbrush




Answers to the review questions:
1. C
2. A

Possible answers to the game question:

1. It's titled "A Series of Unfortunate Events" because it involves kids who experience multiple events that are unfortunate: their parents' deaths, and their uncle's attempts to control them.

2. It's titled "A Series of Unfortunate Events" because it's based on a series of books, and the books are filled with unfortunate events.

3. It's titled "A Series of Unfortunate Events" because it's part of a gloomy-toned series of media: first, the books; second, the movie; and now, the video game.



a final word:


I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.

I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.


From my blog:
On vocabulary...
      36 ways to study words.
      Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
      How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
On writing...
      How to improve any sentence.
      How to motivate our kids to write.
      How to stop procrastinating and start writing.
      How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count.

From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.

Subscribe to "Make Your Point" for a daily vocabulary boost.



© Copyright 2024 | All rights reserved.