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noisome

Adjective
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Harmful, foul-smelling, noxious, or offensive to the senses; used in poetry to describe disease, decay, or toxic atmospheres.

Detailed Definition
This is an older literary word meaning something unpleasant, dangerous, or causing harm. In the psalm it modifies “pestilence,” giving the phrase an intensified sense of deadly corruption or sickness.
Example
Example in poetry:
Psalm 91 warns of “the noisome pestilence,” where noisome means harmful or noxious; “Noisome smoke folded over the tenements” uses the older sense of injurious foulness; “The noisome ditch bred fever in July” gives the adjective historical, sensory force; Modern readers may confuse it with noisy, so context should emphasize stench, danger, or pollution
Additional Notes
“noisome” is an archaic literary adjective, and the quoted line uses it in a way modern readers may not immediately know.; Found in the poem, Psalm 91 by King James Bible
Also Known As
malodorous foul offensive pestilent
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