Annoyance
nounA feeling of mild irritation, or a thing that causes such irritation.
How to spell annoyance
9 letters · 3 syllables
How to pronounce annoyance
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does annoyance mean?
- nounA feeling of mild irritation, or a thing that causes such irritation.
Annoyance in a sentence
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The constant drip from the tap was a source of real annoyance.
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She hid her annoyance behind a polite smile during the long meeting.
Where does annoyance come from?
Language of origin: French
The word grows out of the verb 'annoy', which English took from the Old French anoier or enuier, meaning 'to vex' or 'to weary'. That French verb traces back to a Late Latin form inodiare, 'to make loathsome', which itself was lifted from the Latin phrase 'mihi in odio est', literally 'it is in hatred to me', built on the noun odium meaning 'hatred'. So at its root the word describes something that makes you feel a small, simmering dislike, which is exactly the modern sense of mild irritation. The noun 'annoyance' was formed in Middle English around the 1300s by adding the French-derived suffix -ance, which turns a verb into the name of a state or feeling. A useful memory aid is that the ending is -ance, not -ence, and the double 'n' carries straight over from the verb 'annoy'.
How the word is built
- annoy (from Old French anoier: to vex)
- -ance (noun suffix forming a state or feeling)
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