different between nuisance vs discomfort

English

Etymology

From Middle English nuisance, from Anglo-Norman nusaunce, nussance etc., from Old French nuisance, from nuisir (“to harm”), from Latin noce? (“to harm”).

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?nus?ns/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?nju?s?ns/

Noun

nuisance (countable and uncountable, plural nuisances)

1. A minor annoyance or inconvenience.
   • 2010, Jeffrey M. Wooldridge, Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data (2nd Edition), The MIT Press, p. 407

     By itself, nondifferentiability at zero is a minor nuisance.

2. A person or thing causing annoyance or inconvenience.
3. (law) Anything harmful or offensive to the community or to a member of it, for which a legal remedy exists.

Synonyms

• (minor annoyance or inconvenience): annoyance, inconvenience, offense
• (person or thing causing annoyance or inconvenience): bother, obstacle, pest

Antonyms

• (minor annoyance or inconvenience): enjoyment

Related terms

• nuisance call
• nuisance tax

Translations

References

• nuisance on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

French

Etymology

From Old French nuisance, from nuisir (“to harm”) (compare also French nuire), from Latin noce? (“I harm”), noc?re; may correspond to Late Latin noc?ntia.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /n?i.z??s/
• Rhymes: -??s

Noun

nuisance f (plural nuisances)

1. nuisance
2. pollution

   Les nuisances sonores sont un véritable fléau dans ce quartier.

Related terms

• nuire

Further reading

• “nuisance” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

English

Etymology

From Middle English discomforten, from Anglo-Norman descomforter.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /d?s?k?mf?t/
• (US) IPA^(key): /d?s?k?mf?t/

Noun

discomfort (countable and uncountable, plural discomforts)

1. Mental or bodily distress.
2. Something that disturbs one’s comfort; an annoyance.

Translations

Verb

discomfort (third-person singular simple present discomforts, present participle discomforting, simple past and past participle discomforted)

1. To cause annoyance or distress to.
2. (obsolete) To discourage; to deject.

Usage notes

As a verb, the unrelated term discomfit is often used instead, largely interchangeably, though this is proscribed by some as an error, discomfit originally meaning “destroy”, not “distress”.

Derived terms

• discomforter

See also

• discomfit