¹inconvenience

noun in·con·ve·nience \ˌin-kən-ˈvē-nyən(t)s\

: trouble or problems

: something that causes trouble or problems : something that is inconvenient

Full Definition of INCONVENIENCE

: something that is inconvenient

: the quality or state of being inconvenient

See inconvenience defined for English-language learners

See inconvenience defined for kids

Needham was sorry to see him go, for although his high-handedness … had caused some inconvenience, his intelligence and courage were of the first water. —Simon Winchester, The Man Who Loved China, 2008
Any wish or even longing I might have to see her produced no results; sometimes when she showed up it was actually inconvenient, but frustrated longing and inconvenience both ended the same way … —Jane Smiley, Good Faith, 2003
Jem knew as well as I that it was difficult to walk fast without stumping a toe, tripping on stones, and other inconveniences, and I was barefooted. —Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, 1960
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Middle English, misfortune, inconsistency, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin inconvenientia, from Latin inconvenient-, inconveniens

First Known Use: 1534

Synonyms: aggravation, aggro [British], bother, botheration, bugbear, exasperation, frustration, hair shirt, hassle, headache, annoyance, irk, irritant, nuisance, peeve, pest, rub, ruffle, thorn, trial, vexation

verb in·con·ve·nience \ˌin-kən-ˈvē-nyən(t)s\

: to cause trouble or problems for (someone)

in·con·ve·niencedin·con·ve·nienc·ing

transitive verb

: to cause problems or trouble for : subject to inconvenience <sorry to inconvenience you>

See inconvenience defined for English-language learners

… I could count on one of my aunts to insist that she take me to some far-off corner of Nairobi to find the best bargains, no matter how long the trip took or how much it might inconvenience her. —Barack Obama, Dreams from My Father, (1995) 2004
The work was inconvenienced by the time of year, there being only about three hours of natural light per day, but the pyroclastic spectacle made the darkness photogenic. —John McPhee, New Yorker, 22 Feb. 1988
Medieval manuscripts are turgid with abbreviations, which favor the copyist although they inconvenience the reader. —Walter J. Ong, Orality and Literacy, (1982) 2002
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