from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Noisome \Noi"some\, a. [For noysome, fr. noy for annoy. See
{Annoy}.]
1. Noxious to health; hurtful; mischievous; unwholesome;
insalubrious; destructive; as, noisome effluvia. "Noisome
pestilence." --Ps. xci. 3.
[1913 Webster]
2. Offensive to the smell or other senses; disgusting; fetid.
"Foul breath is noisome." --Shak.
[1913 Webster] -- {Noi"some*ly}, adv. -- {Noi"some*ness},
n.
[1913 Webster]
Syn: Noxious; unwholesome; insalubrious; mischievous;
destructive.
Usage: {Noisome}, {Noxious}. These words have to a great
extent been interchanged; but there is a tendency to
make a distinction between them, applying noxious to
things that inflict evil directly; as, a noxious
plant, noxious practices, etc., and noisome to things
that operate with a remoter influence; as, noisome
vapors, a noisome pestilence, etc. Noisome has the
additional sense of disqusting. A garden may be free
from noxious weeds or animals; but, if recently
covered with manure, it may be filled with a noisome
smell.
[1913 Webster]