Obnoxiously

Part of speech: adverb

Pronunciation: /əbˈnɑkʃəsli/

Definitions

1. In a way that is highly offensive, irritating, or annoying to others
2. Performed with such disagreeable or objectionable behavior that it provokes strong dislike
3. Displaying conduct that is very rude or unpleasant, causing discomfort or irritation

Etymology: "Obnoxiously" is an adverb formed by adding the English suffix "-ly" to the adjective "obnoxious," and the suffix has an old, plain Germanic history: it descends from a word meaning "body" or "form," later used to mean "like" or "in the manner of." Its path to modern English runs through Old English "-līċe," which became Middle English "-ly," and "-ly" has been attached to adjectives ever since to turn them into adverbs. The adjective is the more interesting part. It comes from Latin "obnoxiosus," built from "obnoxius," meaning "liable to harm" or "subject to punishment." That in turn combines "ob," "in the way of" or "exposed to," with "noxa," meaning "harm" or "injury," which is also the source of "noxious." So the original sense was closer to "exposed to someone's injury," not to rudeness at all. Latin writers used "obnoxius" of a person who was answerable to another, or liable to a penalty, and the word moved toward its modern sense of causing offence only later in English.

Synonyms: offensively, unpleasantly, disagreeably, insufferably, intolerably

Antonyms: pleasantly, agreeably, mildly, gently, kindly